Harper Potts, the Girl Who Died (Hogwarts Year 1)
by Harper Potts
Summary: Book one of the saga of Harper Potts, the girl who died. Harper thought she could have done a better job than Harry Potter. She will learn that being Harry Potter isn't so easy after all. DoOver. AU. Independent Protag. I'm striving for daily updates.
1. Prolog (Chapter 1) - The Girl Who Died

**Prolog - The Girl Who Died**

In a room at St Jude's on the pediatric cancer ward a young girl closed her eyes as the nurse went about her routine, checking her vital signs, monitors and refreshing her fluids in her IV. It didn't take a nurse to know that the girl was very sick. A headcloth hid her bald head and blankets covered her shrunken body, but her skin was unhealthy pale shade and her eyes held weariness beyond her sixteen years.

"Are you tired, Harper?" her nurse asked.

Yes, so very, very tired. However, the girl forced a smile. "Just a little bit."

"We'll let you get some rest soon." Her nurse straightened and faced the gathered family. "Visiting hours are almost over. Harper needs her rest. You should start leaving now."

While Harper felt relief at hearing those words, she hid it. She smiled from her hospital bed. "It was so good of all you to come and see me."

A parade of gentle hugs started as aunts and uncles, cousins, Grandma and Grandpa came by one by one to gently hug her and say good-bye. They all gave her the same lies and platitudes: sleep well, see you soon, keep your strength up, and you're such a fighter. She saw through their tears and fears they were all trying to hide. The words weren't really important anyway. What was important was what beneath them, their love and concern. So she gave it back telling them to take care, that she'd keep fighting, and that she loved them in return. She kept the smile in place and the hurt inside. It was almost over. Nobody said it, but they wouldn't have all come if it wasn't almost over. The tears and the crying said it all. They were saying good-bye. She tried to give each of them what they needed. Even Uncle Norm when he rubbed her bald head and said they'd have to give her a new wig as soon as she got out.

She wasn't ever leaving this hospital.

Harper had known that for a long time and made peace with it. Even death wasn't scary once you stared it in the face long enough. Now death was a friend that would take her away. She hoped for a better place, but even oblivion would be welcome. Few people understood that. Her mother, Mary, being one of the worst. Her mother still hoped and prayed for a miracle. It just wasn't in her to give up on her daughter. Harper watched as her mother cornered the ward nurse and begged to stay just a little while longer.

Harper expected the nurse to say no. The rules were usually enforced even on family members. However, this time the nurse met her eyes and Harper knew she was being asked for permission. Yet with all her family coming to visit, this request to stay made sense. It matched what she felt in her aching bones. She wasn't going to last much longer, maybe not even this night. Of course, she gave permission. "Can Mom stay, please?"

"For a little bit longer, but you need your rest. I'll check back in on you later."

Her mother fussed for a while, straightening pillows that didn't need straightening before sitting in a chair by her side. "Would you like to watch a movie? I've got your favorite. How about Harry Potter?"

She forced a smile. She had liked the movies and the books when she'd been younger, before the cancer and chemo had stolen her hair, her strength and her youth. How could she not have been intrigued? A twist of fate had given her almost the same name: Harper Potts / Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling had taught her to read and when she'd gotten cancer she'd used to dream of the boy who lived and magical cures. That had been before… denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Despite all the years, despite prognosis, remission and recurrence, somehow her mother had never reached acceptance. "Sure Mom, let's have a Harry Potter marathon."

As her mother busied herself with putting the DVD into the player, Harper hit the pain relief button. Delivered intravenously the medicine took effect quickly and took the edge off her pain for a while. Although she'd suggested a marathon she knew she'd never make through even the first movie. Given the way everyone was acting she might not ever wake up again. Which as much as she'd told herself that she was ready was still a bit scary. That also meant there was something she needed to say — just in case.

"Mom, you know I love you."

Her mother looked over her tearing up. "Of course, and I love you so much sweetheart."

"Good, you know you really should find someone instead of spending all your time with me, but I'm glad you're here."

"Of course, I'll be here until you kick this thing. Shh, movie starting." She turned away hiding her tears.

Harper worried about her mother. Since Dad picked up and left she'd turned into a mother hen, always around. If love was powerful enough to stop cancer, Harper had no doubt she'd be cured by now. She hoped that when she was gone that her mother wouldn't cry too much and would move on. She wouldn't be alone. She'd have Grandma and Grandpa.

She turned from those thoughts and tried to relax and drift into the familiar story. She still loved the story for all it's flaws. The first movie had really captured the wonder of a magical world. Maybe her mother needed it more than she did. The story of a boy living through a deadly curse and living to be a hero.

Her strength really was fading and she started to drift off to sleep. As Hagrid gave his famous line, "You're a wizard, Harry," her eyes closed for the last time. It really was a good story. So flawed, though. Dumbledore was almost as bad as Voldemort. Ron was a fair-weather friend. Hermione so deserved better. Not to mention the 'redemption' of Snape. If she'd been Harry, she would have done it all differently…


	2. Chapter 2 - Welcome to the Dursley

**Welcome to the Dursley's**

Harper awoke to pain, stench and darkness. She was no stranger to pain. The bone deep pain of cancer had been eating from the inside for most of her young life. However, the sharp insistent pain radiating from her chest was different from any pain she'd ever suffered. She tasted of blood and stale vomit. She felt and smelled the unpleasant sensation of having fouled herself. What was going on? Where were the monitors? The IV? The lights so the nurses could check on her throughout the night. Where was... "Mom?! Mom! Mommy?"

Flailing about with her arms she connected with a hard wooden wall. Was she in her coffin? Was this the afterlife? She felt it in quiet desperation and terror ignoring the sharp pain in her chest and the taste in her mouth, she started exploring her space. Not a coffin. Too much vertical room, but the roof was slanted. She found the edge of her bed and started crawling about and found another wall right beside the bed. Whatever this space was it wasn't much bigger than a coffin. Her exploring hands found some kind of paneling in the wood. It wasn't a wall. It was a door. She twisted the doorknob but the door wouldn't open.

In terror she started pounding at the door. "Mom?! Someone? Anyone! Please help me! Someone! Where am I? Help me! Please." Again and again she slammed at the door. Each scream stabbed at her lungs. She'd been prepared to die, peacefully, quietly, but not like this.

"I'm going to teach the freak a lesson this time!" The voice was muffled through the wooden door but the shout of an angry man was clear. Suddenly light shown around the cracks of the door and a moment later the door flew open.

Harper barely had time to register the presence of a large walrus-like man filling the doorway before a foot connected with her face.

"It's two in the morning! Shut up you freak! Bad enough you ruined Dudley's birthday! Now you're waking us up in the middle of the night."

The kick had sent her flying back and left her stunned for a while. The foot had smashed her eye and it hurt bad, but the sudden motion made her ribs hurt worse. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you're a freak. It's enough that we feed and clothe you. You should be grateful. What is that horrible stench? Petunia! Get in here. The freak is sick."

Petunia? Through the pain something clicked. Petunia and Dudley. She was dreaming. No, she wasn't dreaming. Dreams didn't hurt. She was hallucinating. Too much Harry Potter and too many drugs. This was all just a hallucination. Where was the call button? If she could find the call button and press for a nurse, this would all be over.

"What's going on, Vernon?" A scrawny woman in a houserobe had appeared and began berating her husband. "Why do you think it is my job to take care of its mess? Boy, get up. Go to the bathroom and clean yourself up. Then you need to clean up this mess."

If Harper didn't hurt so much she could laugh. "You look just like them. Not like the movie actors, but still just like them."

The Dursley's looked at each other in puzzlement. "I think he's mental," said Vernon finally.

A piggish boy appeared upstairs. "What's going on?"

"Go to bed, Dudders. It's just Harry. Nothing to worry about," called Petunia. "I'll come tuck you in."

Vernon shook his head. "Boy, I'll leave your door open, but you had better get yourself and this mess cleaned up. I expect you to be back in here by the time I get up or else. You understand?"

Harper didn't understand, but with the fat fist of Vernon Dursley shaking in her face she knew better to say that. She also knew all about dealing with pain and how to smile. "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good! Clean your sheets as well and take a shower. Just keep it down." With that he turned and left.

Alone in the hallway Harper lay there awhile in pain contemplating the situation. This was an incredibly vivid hallucination, but no other explanation made sense. Well, since she wasn't waking up she might as follow it along. One thing she always hated from the books was the Dursley's had never gotten their comeuppance. Harry had even ended on a semirespectful relationship with Dudley. What they'd done in the books was child abuse. She'd met more than one child abuse survivor during her hospital stays and it wasn't a joke. Her brain had obviously dreamt up this scenario, but why not play it through?

She forced herself to stand. It hurt, but she was used to dealing with pain. She started exploring downstairs but only found a half bathroom, just a sink and toilet, not bathtub. However, it also had a mirror. She took a moment to consider her reflection in the mirror. She was Harry freaking Potter, scar and all. No breast at all, not that she'd had much in the way of breasts. Cancer had left her far too thin for them to really grow. She even felt her pants and felt a bulge as well as the wetness of urine. This dream was so disgusting and so vivid. She walked away clutching her side.

Exploring the house she found the kitchen and a phone. It was an old-fashioned wall-mounted land line. Why shower? Why not just call the police now? After all as disgusting as she was her appearance would further convince anyone who saw her that she needed assistance promptly. She picked up the phone and started to dial and then reconsidered. What if they heard her? Leaving the phone for a moment she explored further and went upstairs and found a bathroom. She turned on the shower and left it running and then made her way downstairs. Quickly she returned to the phone and dialed 911. Nothing happened. From some dusty corner her brain dug up the factoid that it was 999 in England. She tried again.

"999 What is your emergency?"

Thank god. She hurt like hell, but even in a hallucination it would be worth it to see the Dursley's hauled away to jail, because that was what they richly deserved. "My uncle beat me and locked me in the closet, but I've escaped."

"What is your name?"

"Harry Potter." Well, she certainly wasn't going to say Harper.

"What is the phone number you are calling from?"

Harper rattled off the number printed on the phone.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm at home. Number Four, Privet Drive, Surrey." Wherever Surrey was. Somewhere close to London apparently.

"Are you hurt?"

"There is something wrong with my chest. I think something is broken. It hurts to breathe."

"Where is your uncle now?"

"He's upstairs asleep with my aunt and cousin." Harper imagined that would change when they heard sirens. "Can you tell them to leave the sirens off until they get here? I'll open the door for you."

"Yes, we can do that, Harry. Do you mind if I call you Harry?"

"No, I don't mind." Why not?

The 999 operator went on to ask more question about the injuries, the abuse, how long it had gone on. Harper gave it all out there just like it was written in the books: abused his whole life, forced to wait upon them, Dudley had two rooms and he had a closet, shut in the closet for days and more. The operator kept talking and talking, which is probably what she was trained to do.

"Harry, the cops are pulling up outside now. Do you want to go let them inside?"

"Yes, I will and thank you." Harper went to the door

Two actual bobbies complete with their famous uniforms and nightsticks stood at the door. Both looked serious. One was slightly older and stouter with whiskers and the other looked young.

"Good lord! This is no prank call, Frank," called the younger one.

"Shh, keep it down." His eyes focused on Harper. "Are you Harry Potter?"

"Yes, I am." Amazing how easy it got.

"Come this way Mr. Potter. Let's keep you by the car until the ambulance arrives. The dispatcher said that you live here with your aunt and uncle. Where are your parents?"

"They're dead sir, both of them." She was tempted at add that they were murdered by Lord Voldemort, but why get the Dursley's off by having the police question her sanity. "I think my next of kin is Aunt Marge, but please don't send me to her. She is as bad as they are. Sometimes she sets her dogs on me."

"Bloody hell. It just keeps worse and worse. Don't worry. We won't be sending you to your Aunt Marge."

Any further conversation was cut off by the quiet arrival of an ambulance. Harper was hustled over to it where she was quickly laid out on a stretcher and they started going over her. She got to see the police enter Number Four Privet Drive, but she didn't get to see the Dursley's hauled off in handcuffs. It was very familiar to lay down and ignore the pain and let the paramedics work on her broken body.


	3. Chapter 3 - Hospital Ward

**Hospital Ward**

When she woke up in a hospital ward still in a male body with taped up ribs instead of cancer, Harper decided that her hallucination theory was starting to wear thin. It had seemed the only possible explanation at first. After all her leukemia had metastasized to her brain and she was on drugs. That was certainly enough to explain hallucinations. However, this hallucination was ongoing and so very real. However, on the other hand it was so very familiar. Was it just a coincidence that she was in a hospital bed like she'd been the past weeks? Sure the details had changed, but one hospital room was much like another. She had a bed, monitors, a TV, a little side table and not much else. There were differences: the window looked out on London, everyone spoke with a British accent, both the monitors and TV were old-fashioned, and there was an empty bed in the room for potential second occupant. So while things were different, they weren't that different. Was that a clue as to where he body really was?

On the other hand, a lot of time had passed in tests, exams and meeting with the police, several doctors and a social worker. Yet, this dream, hallucination or whatever it was hadn't ended. The whole flight from the Dursley's had felt like a dream: danger and being chased, but that didn't hold up now. Could her imagination really make up complete British newscasts and shows from years ago? The level of detail was incredible. Not to mention that she was apparently a boy now. She had no breasts and a penis. The lack of breasts wasn't so bad, but it felt uncomfortably different down there. Standing to pee for the first time had been both an awkward and embarrassing experience and not because of her taped up ribs. While the process had been similar, it had certainly been different and felt very real. That was the problem. Everything felt so very real.

She was in a hospital. If she asked for a shrink, she'd could have a professional opinion in less than an hour, but she didn't dare. She'd had a partial concussion when she'd been brought in, so they might think she was just concussed and not crazy. However, talking about how she was really a girl and had been turned in a boy who was a fictional character would get her a quick trip to a padded room in no time. So she kept her mouth shut, ate a lackluster breakfast of hospital food, and watched the telly. She stuck to news programs and quickly discovered she had time travelled to the past as well. That would explain the outdated monitors and telly.

Why exactly was it a telly now? A television had always been a TV before, but telly felt right now. So did the British accents of the people on the telly. Ass was now arse. Fanny was no longer a cute word for her bum that schoolkids and grandmothers might use, but a naughty word for the girl bits she no longer had. Even stranger was that British version of English now felt right now. The British accents sounded normal as well. It was the rare American accent on the telly and her own memories of American style English that sounded… foreign. How could that happen?

As she was pondering the reality of her situation two people walked in. Harper looked up and studied them with interest. They were an odd pair that didn't seem to go together. The first was an elderly woman in a very formal and old-fashioned nurse's uniform. She had a stern but kind countenance. The person with her looked like a cop even though he was wearing a fashionable business suit. He was dark of skin and had a presence that radiated authority. They were obviously together.

The man spoke first. "Harry Potter, I'm so pleased to meet you even though I wish it were under other terms. I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt and this is Madame Pompfrey. I'm from the Ministry and I'm here to help you."

Harper couldn't help laughing at loud at that. That joke was so old. "You're from the government and you're here to help me? Okay, I'll bite. What Ministrey?"

"The Ministrey of Magic." replied Shacklebolt.

"There's no such thing as magic." The response was reflexive and born out of denial. After all if they had Dursleys then it only made sense that the entire magical world would exist as well. She'd been dancing around the idea, but it looked like the reality portion of the show was over and it was time to get back onto the Wonderland Express.

Shacklebolt and Pompfrey looked at each other with expressions of astonishment. Kingsley's astonishment faded to a frown. "Do you mean to tell me that you've never been told of your heritage Mr. Potter?"

May as well play the role. "What heritage? My mother and father were two no account unemployed wastrels who were killed in a car crash. It's not exactly something to be proud of. Although I like to think they'd have been better than my aunt and uncle." Harper felt a bit guilty at essentially lying to them, but as the alternative was a little white padded room either here or at St. Mungo's, she didn't feel that guilty about it. Besides since she was Harry Potter in this dream it wasn't really a lie.

Madame Popfrey actually had tears come to her eyes. "A car crash? You poor dear."

Shacklebolt was more controlled. There was a tightening of his face that betrayed anger. "This changes things Poppy. He's going to need a guardian, not just a caretaker. Are you still willing?"

"Absolutely, I've raised two children. Steven and I can manage one child for a few weeks until the sorting even if he is Harry Potter. No, make that especially if it is Harry Potter. It will be an honor and a priviledge."

What was going on? "What do you mean guardian? Aren't you going to send me back to the Dursley's?" What was going on? Dumbledore always sent Harry back to the Dursley's.

Shacklebolt shook his head decisively. "After what they've done to you, that is completely out of the question. I wish we could ship muggles to Azkaban. However, that isn't going to happen. They're muggles and they will be dealt with by muggle law. I promise you though Mr. Potter, I will make sure they don't wiggle out of the system."

"Good." Harper smiled. She was all for the Dursleys getting their comeuppance. However, while she followed Shaklebolt's story, she shouldn't have been able to do so. "Thank you, Mr. Shacklebolt, but you're still not making a lot of sense. What is a muggle? What is Azkaban? Plus, you know, there is still no such thing as magic. And more importantly what's going to become of me if I'm not going back to live with the Dursley's."

Madame Pomfrey sighed. "That's a lot of questions. More than we should answer here. Shacklebolt put up a muggle repelling spell, but those don't always hold. We need to take you to St. Mungo's, but I promise that I'll answer all your questions later. I will tell you that for the next few weeks you'll be staying with me until we can work out a more permanent solution. Would you like to stay with me for a while Mr. Potter?"

Madame Pomfrey? The nurse from Hogwarts. Would that mean staying at Hogwarts? It was certainly a lot different from what had happened in the books. Regardless, it beat staying with the Dursley's. Besides, there was a kindness to Madame Pomfrey that reminded Harper of her own mother. "Yes, I think I would like very much."

"Good," replied Madame Pomfrey. "Let's get you fit to travel then. I see they've strapped your ribs so you can move about, but I'm going to mend your bones so you can travel more easily. The rest we'll deal with at 's. Please hold still, Mr. Potter. This may feel a little uncomfortable, but it shouldn't hurt much." She brought her wand out and began swirling it in a complicated pattern while muttering Latin.

Harper felt a warmth spread through her chest and the aching feeling rapidly got better. In no time at all her chest hurt a lot less. "Alright, so maybe there is such a thing as magic."

Shacklebolt laughed. It was a deep and hearty chuckle that made him a bit more human. Maybe he was a cop, but he was at least a cop with a sense of humor.

"Thank you, Madame Pompfrey," said Harper remembering her manners. Maybe getting cured by magic wasn't really a convincing sign this wasn't a hallucination, but it fit with the story and not being in pain was a big improvement.

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. Although we're not done with you yet. I could treat those bruises and some of your internal injuries with potions and salves, but I'd like to do some more tests at St. Mungo's first. Do you think you can travel?"

Harper nodded. "My face is still throbbing where Uncle Vernon kicked me and it still hurts to breathe, but I can manage. My doctors gave me some painkillers. It's not that bad." She was used to so much worse.

Pompfrey shook her head sadly. "We'll get it fixed. If you could come stand between me and Mr. Shacklebolt and take a good grip on both our hands. We're going to apparate."

Harper did as she was bid, she felt small next to the adults. She remembered being taller, but she put her hands in theirs and braced herself. "Apparate?" she asked already knowing the answer.

Shacklebolt laughed again. "Another thing that is easier to demonstrate than explain. Just hold on tight, Mr. Potter." He waved his wand and called out, "Apparate."

Suddenly she was yanked from both sides and everything went black. She was squeezed in from all sides, not really painful. It felt like she was at the bottom of the ocean, pressure pushing in, collapsing her lungs, eyes and ears. Then suddenly it was over and they were at another hospital looking place that must be St. Mungo's. Her stomach did a little flip-flop, but nothing compared to chemo. All in all it had been quite a rush.

"Wicked!" cheered Harper. "Can we do that again?"

**A/N:** This started off as an idea, but it is taking on a life of its own. I've worked out the reasons behind the scenes why it is that Shacklebolt and Pompfrey were the ones to approach Harry and also how this happened to Harper. Some of that will be revealed over time, but be prepared for a long wait. So for my readers, what should Harper do once she starts accepting that it isn't just a hallucination? Any thoughts? Leaving the Dursley's was a no brainer, but can she do better than Harry or is she doomed to follow in his footsteps all the way?


	4. Chapter 4 - St Mungo

**St. Mungo's**

At St Mungo's Pomfrey and Shacklebolt whisked Harper right past a grumpy blonde woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes and into down the hallway and into an exam room.

"It's like you don't want me to be seen or something," Harper commented suspiciously. Although she expected she already knew why. She was Harry Potter after all.

Shacklebolt nodded. "Very observant, Mr. Potter. It all has to do with your history. You're famous."

That started the big 'revelation' that Harry Potter was the boy-who-lived who had defeated Dark Lord Voldemort. Shacklebolt and Pompfrey took turns telling the story of the rise of Voldemort, the terror it caused in the wizarding world, and his defeat when trying to kill Harry. None of this was exactly news to Harper. The only real surprise was that Shacklebolt had no trouble saying Voldemort's name and even explained about the taboo and that's why other wizards still feared to say it. That was something Harry didn't find out until book seven. Since she actually knew all this background information and more, the hardest part was pretending not to know it. She knew how to hide her true feelings. She'd had years of practice while keeping up a brave face for her family and never letting them see how scared she was. Yet, maybe a brave face wasn't the most appropriate response, because Shacklebolt seemed to grow suspicious as the story ended.

"I have to say, Mr. Potter, you're taking this all quite well," he observed.

"Am I? I guess it all a little unreal to me, Mr. Shacklebolt. Everything you are saying is just names to me. I don't remember my parents. It means something that they weren't a couple of out-of-work nobodies who got drunk and wrecked their car." She offered up her best fake smile. "As for the magic, that does explain some strange things that happened in my childhood. I think it is going to take a while for all of this to sink in. Is it selfish that I'm more worried about where I'm going to live and that I won't get beaten or locked in the cupboard for days at a time again?"

"That's not going to happen, Mr. Potter." Madame Pomfrey's voice managed to combine kindness with a promise like forging steel. "You will be staying with my husband Steven and I until you are sorted into a house at Hogwarts and a permanent guardian can be assigned."

"Okay, so explain what that means. What is Hogwarts and what is a sorting?" That question led to another long discussion about things that Harper already knew from reading the books. The conversation started with the background of Hogwarts as a school of wizardry under Albus Dumbledore, and moved onto the four houses, backtracked to cover how underaged wizardry was not allowed, and then finished up talking about the sorting without mentioning the Sorting Hat. About the only new knowledge that Harper gleaned in the discussion was that Madame Pomfrey had been a Hufflepuff and Shaklebolt had been in Gryffindor.

"Alright, I think I've got all that, but what does that have to do with having to be sorted into before I'm placed with a permanent guardian?"

"That's complicated Mr. Potter. You see —." Shacklebolt abruptly stopped when someone else entered the room. "We can talk more later, Mr. Potter. I'd best let Healer Smethwyck and Madame Pomfrey have their turn."

Harper expected to have to strip down to her briefs and go through a lot of tests and bloodwork, but the diagnosis consisted mostly of Smethwyck waving his wand, casting spells, and pulling multiple strange-looking diagnostic devices out of a black bag that looked too small to hold him. He did a lot of conferring with Madame Pomfrey as well as muttering and shaking his head. Harper knew quite a bit of medical jargon, but even so a good deal flew over her head. However, she could very well understand years of abuse, improperly healed bones and a mild case of scurvy.

The scurvy particularly seemed to infuriate the Healer. "Scurvy, in this day and age. Even muggles know better. Their medicine isn't that primitive. What did they feed you?"

"Table scraps," replied Harper. It was after all the truth, at least the truth for Harry. "When I could get them."

"This is how they treat, Harry Potter?! Shacklebolt, this is outrageous. What is the Ministry doing about this?"

"It is being handled, Hippocrates. The criminals were muggles and will face muggle justice. I'd also like to remind you that your oath as a Mediwizard forbids you disclosing the details of patient's condition and treatment."

"It doesn't matter if you remind me or not, Kingsley. I swore an oath. However, he is a minor and there are signs of abuse. I have to report it to the ministry."

"That's why I'm here. You just reported it to me. Treat him so we can get out of here."

"Very well." Smethwyck turned back to Harper. "Mr. Potter you have suffered extensive damage to your body over years, but the good news it is all mundane. We can fix all of it with ease. The hardest part will be fixing some of your bones that mended wrong. I'm going to have to first break them and then reset them correctly. I'm going to give you a strong sleeping draught first."

Harper nodded in understanding. "That's how the muggle doctor's do it as well."

Smethwyck scoffed. "I don't think they can fix the breaks in seconds. Everything else is easy. You'll need a special mix of strength potion and skele-gro, two drops a day for a month that should help counteract the effects of the malnutrition you suffered. Madame Pomfrey can oversee that. You should also get fitted for glasses. There is an optometrist on Diagon Alley."

"What would happen if I kept taking the potion? Would I keep growing?" asked Harper.

"No, long-term augmentation by potions can have bad side-effects. I certainly wouldn't recommend it in a growing child. This will just help correct the damage done by your malnutrition, no more."

"Oh." That made sense. If it was easy then all witches and wizards would have perfect bodies. "So when do we do this? Do you need to schedule an operating room?"

Smethwyck laughed. "No, just drink this."

Harper grabbed the bottle and drank. Naturally it tasted awful. Apparently it was a universal constant that whether in the real world or dreams, mundane or magical, all medicine must taste awful. She didn't have time to consider anything else, because sleep hit her like a freight train. To Harpert it felt like she had just shut her eyes when suddenly she was awake, and she felt wonderful. Even after Madame Pomfrey had healed her ribs, they'd still ached and hurt a bit when she breathed. Plus there was the black and swollen eye from where Vernon had kicked her, another lump on the back of her head that the doctor's really worried about. Not to mention assorted aches and pains all over. As familiar as she was with pain she'd just accepted all that as normal. For the first time in longer than she could remember she didn't hurt — anywhere. She also felt amazingly refreshed.

The mediwizard had left, but Madame Pomfrey's kind face was smiling at her. "Welcome back, Mr. Potter. How are you feeling?"

"Better! Oh I feel so much better. Thank you!" Suddenly without forethought she hugged old Madame Pomfrey as she cried tears of happiness. "I'd forgotten what it felt like not to be in pain." Although it wasn't just pain. There was a deep down feeling of being refreshed and… healthy.

Madame Pomfrey was surprised for only a moment, but then she embraced the crying child tightly. "Don't worry child. You're away from those monsters and you'll never have to see them again.

**A/N: ** Comments and suggestions welcome.


	5. Chapter 5 - Covering Up

**Covering Up**

It took a long time before Harper could regain control of herself. The tears had been tears of happiness at first, but once they started flowing she couldn't turn them off. It wasn't just the lack of pain. She'd had to be brave for so long. Now that the walls were down she just couldn't stop. Madame Pomfrey held her the old time soothing her like a mother or a grandmother would until she was able to pull herself together. As she did she realized that crying on someone else's shoulder was a girl thing. Harry Potter didn't cry, did he? Boys didn't cry on the shoulders of women they barely knew. No, more than that, she didn't cry, not in front of others. She'd faced death with dignity. She could face life.

"Um, I'd appreciate it if you never mention this, Mrs. Pomfrey."

"I won't say a ward and please, call me, Poppy."

"Thank you… Poppy. You could call me Harry, I guess." Harper wiped away her tears and looked about. She was relieved that Shaklebolt wasn't there to see her breakdown. "So what happened to Mr. Shacklebolt? He was going to explain to me about the guardian thing."

"You've been out for hours. He's a busy man and I suggested he head home. I'll answer all your questions. Why don't you go wash up at the sink? Then we can talk."

Harper nodded and walked over to the little sink in the room and washed her face. Then she returned to the little exam table and studied Poppy. "So, are you my guardian now?"

Pomfrey shook her head. "I'm just your caretaker. You are a very unusual case, Harry. Since none of your muggle relatives are fit guardians, but you're still underage, you need a witch or a wizard to be appointed to be your guardian. We don't have orphanages in magical England. Our numbers have been decreasing over the past centuries and children are precocious to us. It would be easy to find a wizarding family to act as guardians for any orphan. The problem lies in your fame, Harry. Since you're known as the boy-who-lived as well as the heir to the House of Potter, there are too many people who would want to sponsor you. The old noble and pureblood houses would have a collective fit if you were sponsored by anyone who wasn't of a noble house. On the other hand, none of them can possibly agree on which house would get the honor of having you as a ward. Albus Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic put their heads together and worked out a solution. Hogwarts is agreed by all parties to be neutral. Whatever Hogwart's house you are sorted into, the head of that house will be your new guardian."

Harper nodded at this explanation. She remembered the Ancient and Noble House of Black from the books, but didn't remember Potter being a noble house. However, given the amount of gold in Harry's vault that made sense. After all the Dursley's weren't rich so Harry's mother Lily must not have been either and the Potters hadn't had time to earn a fortune before they were killed. Since she would be sorted into Gryffindor, that would mean McGonagall would be her guardian. Which would be good. Really anyone but Snape would be good. "So what does it mean that I'm the heir to the House of Potter?"

Pomfrey sighed. "Well Harry, it means you'll be Lord Potter someday, but trying to explain everything it means both by custom and law would take far more time than I want to spend here at St. Mungo's. It is also getting late. Why don't we get you something more appropriate to wear and I'll take you home with me. You'll be staying with me and my husband, Steven, for the summer.

"Where do you live?"

"Hogwarts, I thought I told you that I was the nurse at Hogwarts."

Harper was a little flummoxed by the response. She had never considered where the professors and staff lived, or that they might be married for that matter. "Well, I have to live somewhere, I suppose and I trust you… Poppy. So yes, and I'd really like to get out of hospitals and have some real clothes."

"Very well then, Harry. Stand up with your arms out. I'll transfigure that gown you're wearing into some temporary clothes for today. Tomorrow we'll go shopping and get you some proper clothing." She held up her wand.

Harper walked out to the middle of the room and held her arms out. "Okay, what do I do?"

"Just hold still. I'll manage it." With that Pomfrey started waving her wand about.

Harper felt a little bit like the scene in Cinderella with the fairy godmother. Before her eyes her clothing transformed from a flimsy hospital gown into something longer and darker that fit better and didn't show her bum to the whole world. While her feet were still bare and she didn't have any knickers, it was a big improvement. "Wow again and, um, thank you, once again."

"You're welcome, Harry." Poppy took a deep breath. "We'll leave in just a moment, but before we do there is something important that I need to talk with you about. The magical and muggle worlds are separated for a reason. You'll learn about this in History of Magic. Muggles used to hate and fear us. On our side we often feel superior to them, but we still fear a return of the old witch hunts. You're very famous, Harry. You're the boy-who-lived. If it becomes known that your muggle family turned on you and abused you because you could do magic… It will do vast harm to how muggles are viewed. You-know-who killed whole families of muggles just because he could. If others knew what happened to their savior, the-boy-who-lived, they might think that maybe he had the right idea, but the wrong methods."

Harper frowned in concentration as she considered Poppy's speech. She remembered the Muggle Protection Act from the books. She could see how the wizarding world could react negatively in response to hearing how the boy-who-lived had been abused. "So you want me to lie?"

"No, just not tell everyone how badly you suffered. I hate to ask it of you, but a lot of effort has been made to keep this quiet. It has involved only the top levels of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as Albus Dumbledore and myself. Even your four potential guardians haven't been told. If you're asked, could you just say that they didn't react well to discovering you had magic."

"That's a bloody understatement." Harper understood the reasons, but still felt that it was wrong to cover up child abuse. It just didn't sit well with her. "I won't lie. I'll try to keep it quiet and vague, but I won't lie about it. I also have conditions."

"Conditions? I wasn't negotiating. I hoped you would be old enough to understand why it was important."

"Wait, just hear me out, please. The first condition is that when I'm sorted into my house at Hogwarts, that I will tell whoever is appointed my guardian."

Poppy relaxed then. "Oh, that's certainly not a problem. Your guardian should know."

Harper smiled. That was the easy one. This one would be hard. "Second, I want a copy of my medical records, the muggle police reports and whatever paperwork they have on the magical side as well."

"Why would you want that?"

"Because, I don't understand this guardian thing. If I'm being asked to assist in this… cover-up, then I want proof it happened. I want that so there is absolutely no chance that I am ever returned to the custody of the Dursley's." Which shouldn't happen, but in the books Dumbledore had insisted on sending Harry back there year after year because of the blood wards.

"It won't happen, Harry. You won't see them again. I can and will make you a copy of the magical and muggle medical records, but I can't promise the legal records from the muggle world or the Ministry of Law Enforcement."

"Would you ask Shacklebolt for them? And there is a third condition, one he'll probably need to help with as well. I know the muggle courts are slow, but I want to know what happens to them. I want to know if they go to jail and for how long." Harper thought that Madame Pomfrey wasn't expecting all these demands. Time to throw down the puppy dog eyes. She'd learned long ago that there was little adults would deny a young girl dying of cancer. In truth she hadn't wanted much, except to be healthy again, which was the one thing they couldn't give her. Being Harry Potter wasn't the same, but she thought she could work it. "Please Poppy, I'll rest better if I know this is done. If I have the proof and if I know they're locked up."

Poppy nodded looking almost in tears again. "I'll do my best, Harry. I just can't promise beyond what I can do. I'll send an owl to Shacklebolt tonight."

"That's good enough for me." The Dursley's were punished and truly Harry Potter had suffered more than Harper Potts, but the kick to face had been real as were the broken ribs and the damage from years of abuse. "So do we get to apparate again?"


	6. Chapter 6 - The Pomfrey

**The Pomfrey's Place**

Even in the dark Hogwarts looked impressive. There wasn't much light to see by. The sky was overcast so most of the light came from the lumos spell that Poppy preformed. Harper couldn't help but feel excited about walking into Hogwarts. She'd been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal in Florida when she was in remission. The real Hogwarts didn't have the rides, but it was very imposing. She couldn't wait to see it in the daylight.

They'd arrived by apparition outside the Hogwarts wards and surprisingly enough had just walked in through the front gates. How exactly did the wards know who to stop and who to let through? All in all it was rather disappointing. The Hogwarts Express and taking boats across the lake made for a much better first visit.

As she walked up it crossed Harper's mind that she was starting to accept all this as real. She wasn't quite sure when that had happened. She was wearily familiar with the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While that was about how people faced death, it might apply to this situation. She'd started off in denial, fair enough, everyone starts in denial. Anger? What exactly did she have to be angry about? She wasn't dead. Bargaining? Who was she supposed to bargain with? God? Trying to bargain with God didn't work. She'd tried that when she was dying of cancer. What would she bargain for? She didn't want to go back to the hospital ward. She'd left her boy behind, but that was fine. Her family would grieve for her, but they had all come to say goodbye anyway. It would be hardest on her mother, but going back wouldn't help. She wasn't even close to being depressed. That left denial and acceptance. Maybe it was time to accept.

Not that it was easy to accept something so crazy. People on their death beds do not get their dying wishes fulfilled. The world would be a lot different place if they did. So the most logical and rational explanation was that this was some kind of dream/hallucination of her drugged and dying brain. So what if it was a dream? Did it really matter? It felt real. Why not just go with the flow? Was being Harry Potter that bad? If the books were true, she was in for a lot of pain, but she'd get to be a hero and she'd read the books. So maybe with a bit of foreknowledge she could change things.

Perhaps the one thing she wasn't happy about was being a boy. She'd been quite happy being a girl. When she had dreamed about not dying she'd dreamed of being able to do the things normal girls do: go to parties, hang out at the mall, have a boyfriend, and being asked to prom. Now, she wouldn't do those things. Or if she did they wouldn't be the same. If she was Harry would she have to marry Ginny? Ewe. She wasn't into girls. All things considered though, being a young and healthy boy instead of a dying girl was a good thing. Ginny wouldn't even be at Hogwarts this year. She had years to go before that happened.

As they entered the castle she put those things aside to think about more later. There was too much to see, but it was all very quiet. "So where are all the students?"

"They've all gone home for the year. Just the faculty and staff left here. Not even all the faculty. Many of them are off to see their families or vacationing somewhere."

"Oh, I guess that is a good thing. I'm not sure I'm ready to meet a bunch of people yet. I'm still getting used to this world."

"Don't worry. It's late and they'll all be turned in. You just have to meet Steven and I'll have the house elves bring you up something to eat. You need to get lots of rest over the next few days. I know you're feeling better, but we loaded you up with a lot of potions. You're still healing inside."

They continued down the corridors until reached a heavy wooden door that was elaborately carved. The them seemed to be magical subjects: There was a cauldron bubbling, a starry sky, a wand being waved, a frog turning into a person, magical creatures, numbers arranged in a magic square, runes and more. There was also a warning plaque. "Faculty and Staff ONLY. Door warded by age line. No one under 21 without escort."

"Harry, I'll need you to take my hand and hold tight again. I'll need to escort you through this door. We'll get you keyed as an exception to the door tomorrow. It's a tricky bit of ward magic and I'll get Flitwick or McGonagall to do it."

"Alright." Harper took hold of Poppy's hand and gripped it tight. The only mention she remembered of an age line was Goblet of Fire. She followed behind and felt some resistance, rather like walking through water, but once she was past the door it stopped. "Are there other children besides me staying with the faculty?"

"Only one at the moment, Octavia Vector. She just finished her sixth year. She was sorted into Ravenclaw, but she stays with her mother. I'm sure you'll meet her eventually." There was something in Poppy's tone that seemed to express disapproval.

Poppy led her down the hall before stopping at a door. "The password is 'Vitamix'. Please be careful with it Harry." As she said the word the door open.

Harper followed her into a little parlor with a couple of chairs and a couch arranged around a coffee table. The room had a feminine touch to it with lace doilies and various knickknacks about the room. It also had a remarkable number of books lining the walls and a chess set. It didn't look at all magical. A little old-fashioned, but there was nothing at all magical going on, not even a moving painting. In a wingback chair an elderly man puffed away on a pipe and the whole room smelled faintly of tobacco smoke. Hailey didn't really approve of the smoke, but tried to be polite and focus her attention on the man who must be Steven Pomfrey. He looked a good deal older than Madame Pomfrey. His head was white and his wrinkled skin clung loosely to his frame.

"Steven this is—," began Poppy.

"Harry Potter," interrupted Steven Pomfrey. "Honored to meet you Mr. Potter, honored indeed." He set aside a book that he'd been reading and offered his hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Pomfrey. Thank you for letting me stay with you." He took the offered hand and shook it.

"You're welcome Mr. Potter. Have a seat and tell me about yourself."

Harper looked over to Poppy hoping for rescue. She didn't want to talk about herself

Poppy didn't offer any rescue. "Go ahead and sit dear. I'll get some food brought up for you." She crossed over, leaned to her husband and exchanged a short embrace. "Don't talk his ear off dear. He's had a hard day." Then she left.

Harper realized she was on the spot. "Um, I don't really know what to say, sir. I was raised by muggles and I only found out about magic today. Unless you want to hear about muggles there won't be much to tell." She made a stab of shifting the subject back to magic. "Could you tell me about the magical world? There is so much I don't know."

"Well, what do you want to know, Mr. Potter?"

Maybe she should start by being nice? "Um, what do you do, Mr. Pomfrey? I gather that you're a wizard, but I've learned there are different types of wizards and they have jobs. So what is it that you do?"

He laughed. "There are as many different types of wizard as there are muggles. As for what I do, not much any longer. I'm retired, but I used to be the librarian here before I stepped down."

"Oh, I love books. They're a great escape."

He laughed again good naturedly, but it ended with a bit of a cough. "Poppy, sounds like we've got a Ravenclaw here."

Poppy called from the other room. "Not so sure of that, dear. I'm thinking Gryffindor."

Harper enjoyed the banter between the Pomfrey's. She'd seen her grandparents act like that, but not often. It was also interesting to know that he was the former librarian at Hogwarts. Given the time that the golden trio spent looking for books, he could be an excellent resource. However, she wasn't happy about the cough. "I'd love to see the library sometime soon. I'd really appreciate it, but Mr. Pomfrey sir, did you know that the muggles have figured out that smoking leads to lung cancer and other cancers?"

He chuckled. "You don't say? Maybe I should have Poppy check me out and dose me, but cancer is not a worry for wizards, Harry. A good course of transformation therapy will clear it right up."

"Not quite true, dear." Called Poppy still in the other room. "Mundane cancers aren't a worry. There are some magical cancers that can be deadly, but they are generally a side effect of extreme potion abuse, or human transfiguration gone wrong."

Harper felt like she'd just been punched in the stomach. "You can cure cancer! Do you know millions of people die of cancer every year?!" And they were laughing about it. Like it was a joke.

Steven Pomfrey sat up straighter and his laughter dropped away. "I'd forgotten you were muggle raised. The statues of secrecy can be hard on the muggle born when truly realize all the implications. It's true. Millions of muggles do die of cancer, but you didn't go far enough. Millions more die every year in all sorts of preventable ways. They die in those crazy vehicles of theirs. They die in wars. They die in silly household accidents. Wizards can't save them all. We couldn't save close to them all. If we tried the secret of the magical world would come out. That would lead to some very bad outcomes. Most likely a war between the magical and mundane worlds. If we did try, who would you save? Who is worthy and who must die because we can't save them all?"

"But people die! I… I… I knew a girl. She died. She wasted away bit by bit and died of leukemia. She died and she was only sixteen. Her name was Harper. Don't sit there and smugly tell me that she was allowed to die when you could have cured her. Maybe it is easy to sit there in a chair and talk about people dying you've never seen. Have you been to the muggle hospitals? Looked them in the eye and then walked away?"

Madame Pomfrey reappeared in the doorway looking aghast. Before either of the Pomfrey's could reply there was a loud crack and a house elf appeared with a silver platter loaded with food. "Trelly brought the food."

"I don't want it!" Harper lashed out and flipped over the tray that was being offered. "And I don't know that I want to stay here."

Poppy rushed forward ignoring the mess. "Harry, I'm sorry, but you need to calm down. Throwing a tantrum will not bring your friend back to life."

Harper felt like she was losing it now. She was one step away from hysterical laughter because Harper didn't die.

"Did Trelly do something wrong?" asked the worried house elf. "Is Trelly a bad elf?"

Harper took a deep breath and got herself under control. This wasn't like her. She didn't lash out. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Trelly. I'll help you clean that up. I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Pomfrey. Please don't throw me out."

Once again Madame Pomfrey came in and hugged her. "We're not going to throw you out. It's a big adjustment. You're also exhausted and undoubtedly hungry. Harry, you need to eat, and I think a calming draught would be in order."

"Okay. I'll eat." She didn't really feel hungry but she'd eat. "And I'll help pick up the mess." It certainly wasn't the house elf's fault.

"Trelly is doing the picking up. Trelly will bring more food."

**A/N:** I'm not real happy with the title for this chapter. Any better suggestions?


	7. Chapter 7 - Calm Decisions

**Calm Decisions**

The calming draught Poppy gave her should be classified as a controlled substance. Under its influence she'd settled down immediately. She didn't feel the morphine high or fog. She didn't really feel much of anything any longer. She could still think and function. She just felt… decoupled from life. Letting millions of people die who could be saved still felt morally wrong, but she just didn't feel angry about it any longer. She calmly apologized for her actions. She calmly ate the replacement meal that Trelly had brought her. She calmly followed Poppy to a room that used to belong to her son and went to sleep.

Harper awoke sometime before dawn in a strange bedroom and couldn't go back to sleep. She felt restless. The recent events kept replaying through her mind — she was Harry Potter now and everything that went with from Dursley's to magic to a cure for cancer. She no longer felt so unnaturally calm. Instead it felt more like the resigned place that came after a long cry. Her emotions were settled. Laying there in the dark, she started thinking.

Was this real? Seemed like the place to start, but that didn't take very long. The answer was it didn't matter. It felt real. Magic may not be sense. Ending up in as a fictional character made any less. It was crazy, yet that was the reality. While it may not make any sense she accepted that.

So, what did she do about it? That was the big question. Thinking back to her last time in her own body, she remembered drifting off to sleep thinking she could do better than Harry Potter. So was that the answer? Did she just have to be Harry Potter only better? She could be. She'd read all the books and watched all the movies, not just once but over and over again. She knew everything that was going to happen for the next several years. She could go after the horcruxes now and destroy them early. She didn't have to be Dumbledore's pawn. She could defeat the Dark Lord… or could she? Would she have to die at his hand like Harry did to win? Would she have to befriend Ronald Weasley? If she didn't befriend Ron, who would get her past McGonagall's chessmen so she could save the sorcerer's stone?

Also what about cancer? The Pomfrey's may have been satisfied with the reasons, but Harper couldn't live with them. Even with the lingering effects of the calming potion, the thought of doing nothing made her sick. She couldn't let people die. Although there wasn't much she could do about it at eleven years of age. She could study and learn magical healing herself, but that would only save a few people. What she really needed to do was change the laws. That meant becoming a politician. The Harry Potter in the books hadn't done that. He'd just been an auror. Okay, perhaps he had influenced some laws. She wasn't sure. It wasn't even in the epilog. It was just from a press conference or something that J.K. Rowling had said. Regardless, it fit with the character of Harry Potter in the books. He hadn't ever wanted to capitalize on his fame. If she wanted to change wizard laws in a major way, then she'd have to use that fame and go into politics.

It was strange to think about. She'd never really planned on having a future. She'd known her prognosis. Her goals had been lower. She'd tried to make her mark in the world a small way. She'd joined student organizations, written bad poetry and made a friend. Carol had been her most ambitious project, a poor girl with no friends. Harper had made friends with her and helped her out of her shell to the point she had a boyfriend. It wasn't much but it wasn't something. She'd tried not to be a burden on her family and meet death with her head held high, but it wasn't much. Bringing wizard cures to the muggle world — that would save millions. It was a dream worth fighting for.

So how to do it? She'd still need to defeat Voldemort. That went without saying. That meant dying again and all of Harry's pain along the way, but she could also do things better. Destroying the Diadem of Ravenclaw would be a good start. Grab it from the Room of Requirement and take it down to the Chamber of Secrets. Without Tom Riddle around to take control of the basilisk, she could just speak to it in parseltongue and have it bite the crown. Although she had better blindfold herself so she didn't see the thing and get herself turned to stone. She could get rid of Tom's diary the same way. All she had to do was get it from Ginny Weasley before the diary had a chance to possess her. The other horcruxes would be harder, but knowing where they were would make it easier.

What else? Learn magic. That was high on the list. Harry had crap for study skills until book four. She wasn't a Ravenclaw, but she'd learned how to study from home. She hadn't wanted to fall behind in her subjects or she would have slipped a grade and not been with her friends. Not that her education mattered in the end. She also needed to find out what it meant to be Lord Potter. That had to help in politics. What about Dumbledore? At some level he had good intentions. After all he'd died for his beliefs, but no matter what his motives, he'd still been a manipulative old fart and a total failure as a headmaster. He cared more about his plans than the education or welfare of his students. She had no intention of being his pawn. Still, he would try to make her one. How could she outmaneuver a master manipulator?

Occulmency. She was going to have to be good at it. Dumbledore may or may not have peeked into student's thoughts, but Snape damn sure did. That needed to go high on the priority list. She had so much to learn. Making friends with Hermione Granger would be critical. That couldn't start until Hogwarts opened for students, but she'd have all summer to read and study in the library. Steven Pomfrey would be a good person to befriend. The former head librarian could probably help her find all sorts of books to get started.

So much to think about and so much to do. For the first time in a long time she had a long-term goal. She had a future, something to live for. There would be a price to pay. She'd have to suffer at least some of what Harry Potter went through. Also her chances of ever being a girl again seemed slim. Maybe she could get some polyjuice just to experience it again. Or maybe she could find some way to 'accidentally' curse herself into changing gender. That would be good, too. Being Harry Potter would be fun, but being Harper Potter would be even better.

She noticed the room wasn't so dark now and there was some light leaking from the curtains. So she went to the window and looked out. She had a view of the lake and to her right the sun was rising with the sky turning pink and blue. There was one more thing she needed to put on her list. She needed to live. She wanted to get out and walk along that lake and just feel the sun on her face. She'd have to remember not to spend too much time studying and preparing for her future. Life was short. She had a second chance and she wasn't going to spend it all stuck in a book.

* * *

**A/N**: Alright, question for my readers. Based on what Harper Potts has done and decided so far what house should she be sorted into? I haven't decided yet, but I see three real choices

Ravenclaw - I rule out. While Harper has excellent study habits for an 11 year old (due to the fact that she is 16 and disciplined), she does not primarily love learning. Studies are a means to a goal for her.

Gryffindor - facing death with dignity takes a great deal of bravery. So does being willing to face the Dark Lord knowing she may have to die again. Harper has guts

Hufflepuff - She put family and friends first even while dying. She is strong on loyaty and hardwork.

Slytherin - She wants to take down the Dark Lord, sieze political power in the wizarding world and cure cancer. The girl dreams big. She has also learned to lie with a straight face and how to maniuplate adults.

So dear readers, which house should she go to? Your thoughts would be much appreciated because I'm making plans for the rest of Year 1.


	8. Chapter 8 - Gringott

**Gringott's Bank**

Diagon Alley was much like described in the books and seen on film, only more. Poppy had apparated them both to the steps of Gringott's. Even at this early hour the streets were busy with witches and wizards about their business. The shops were a chaotic mess of architecture and design. There was so much to see and do, starting with Gringott's. There was some similarity to the building she'd seen in the movies, but the pillars were straight and tall. She remembered the ones in the film as leaning.

"Alright Harry, remember what I warned you about the goblins. Be respectful, they're not wizards. We'll take out some money from your parent's vault and then we'll be on our way." She took Harry by the hand and led them into Gringott's.

The inside was even more imposing than the outside and looked very much like a bank. There were lines of people waiting to speak to the goblins, desks and signs pointing to various departments: Loans, Investments, Assays, Muggle & Foreign Exchange, Real Estate, and Wills & Inheritance. In addition to the witches, wizards and goblins, large stone gargoyles crouched on the top of pillars watching everything. They weren't merely statues because they were moving about. Apparently they were the magical equivalent of security guards.

It was also time to start making changes. "Poppy, if there are some things I want from the muggle world, can we get some muggle money here?"

"Whatever could you want from the muggle world?" She looked absolutely confused.

"There are lots of things that I need that aren't on this list. I want more than three changes of clothes. I'd like some pajamas, underthings, a rucksack, trainers, socks and underthings. I want muggle clothes. Wizard robes don't look well-suited for running or playing I've spent enough of my life confined to a room. I want to be able to get out. I'd also like some calligraphy pens instead of quills. I would add a CD player and some CDs as well as a PC with a printer, but I'm not sure if they would work. I didn't see any electrical outlets. Do you have electricity at Hogwarts?"

"No, Harry, we don't have electricity at Hogwarts and most muggle things that require electricity don't work well around magic. As for the other things, I was already planning to buy you more clothing. We can get the clothes here, even the muggle clothes. While adults wear robes most of the time, children your age don't, because you're right. They aren't as well-suited for being active outside. We can also get you a book bag. That would be a sensible purchase."

Harper wondered what kind of muggle clothes might have found their way into the wizarding world. From what she remembered from the books wizards had no sense at all of what was in style. She wasn't surprised to hear the no electricity. She rather expected that would be the case. "So even if it runs on batteries it wouldn't work? What if it strictly mechanical like a manual typewriter or a phonograph?"

Poppy sighed. "I don't even know what those things are, let alone why you would want one."

"A typewriter is a machine for writing. You tap on the keys and it prints out the words. It is faster than writing things out and easier to read. A phonograph is a machine that plays music."

"Oh, like a gramophone? Those we have. They're rather expensive though. I suppose if the muggles make them as well, then we could look in muggle London. You would have to show me where to shop. I'm not at all sure about that typewriter contraption."

"Can we at least consider it? If we can find one, I could demonstrate it for you and I think that would show you why I would want one."

"Very well, Harry. You're putting together quite a list of things that I never considered. However, given that you are the heir to the House of Potter, I don't think any of this will really put a strain on your funds. Is there anything else you want to add to the list before we get there?"

Really? This was turning out easier than she thought it would be. "Um, maybe a trunk to put it all in and I know I want some extra books. Is there a book on etiquette that says a lord is supposed to act? Some kind of Miss Manner's for the wizarding world? You said pureblood customs were complicated."

Once again Poppy looked flummoxed. "I don't know… it seems there should be. We could ask Steven about it."

"Okay, how do we do that? No telephones either?" She already knew that answer, but she was trying to soften up Poppy for the possibility of muggle ways of doing things.

"No, we don't have phones. We could send an owl, but we'll be back home before an owl reached Hogwarts." They had reached the front of the line so Poppy stepped forward and addressed the goblin there. "I'm here as the caretaker for Mr. Potter. Here are my papers of temporary guardianship, and here is his vault key. We would like to access the Potter vault."

The goblin looked over the paper and inspected the key. "Everything appears to be in order. Griphook, conduct Mr. Potter and his guardian to his vault."

Griphook was straight out of the books as was the rollercoaster ride to her vault. Poppy used the key and inside was a fortune. Heaps of gold, silver and copper coins.

"Wow! How much is this? I'm rich?" Why was that a surprise? She knew it was coming, but somehow knowing it was different than seeing piles and piles of gold lying around. Rather like the difference between knowing about apparition and being apparated.

"Yes, you're the heir to the House of Potter. You'll be a very wealthy young man when you're grown, but today you're only here for a small amount for your school supplies. You won't need a lot of money."

"How much is this all worth in muggle money?"

"Are you asking to see the balance of your accounts, Mr. Potter?" asked Griphook. "That should be done upstairs."

"Yes, I would like to know."

"Harry…" Poppy's voice now had something of that stern mother tone. "I'm not your guardian. I'm just a caretaker. You should really do this after you have a permanent guardian appointed. For today just get enough coins for our purchases." She offered a small bag. "About half-full should be enough."

Harper grabbed the bag and filled it and found it was quite heavy. Apparently even a small bag of gold was pretty heavy.

"I said half a bag, but hand it over and let's be on. We have a busy day if you want to go shopping in muggle London as well." She put the bag of gold coins into the bag on her side and it swallowed up the bag without a bulge.

"That's like the medical bag at St. Mungos. Can I get a bag like that as well?"

Poppy nodded. "I already planned on it Mr. Potter. I said you can have a book bag. That's why I'm not overly upset about the coins you filling the bag. Anything with a space expansion enchantment is quite expensive. Now, shall we be going?"

The trip back up wasn't near as much fun as the trip down. It was a slow climb like going up a rollercoaster without having the fun of plunging down. Poppy led them to the muggle exchange, but Harper frowned when she saw the posted exchange rates. Harper quickly pulled Poppy aside. "That can't be right. An ounce of gold is worth hundreds of pounds. I expected some kind of exchange fee, but at fifty pounds to a galleon they are collecting a hefty fee."

"Galleons are enchanted, Harry. They cannot be simply sold in the muggle world. A high enough heat will break the enchantment and melt them, but then you'll have a gold puddle. It isn't easy on the muggle side to move large quantities of gold. The goblins are providing a service. They don't merely exchange the gold. They… I believe the term is 'launder' the money."

Harper paused at that. Money laundering was a crime in the muggle world so perhaps an increased fee was justified, but not near what the goblins were charging. It also didn't make sense for small amounts. It wasn't like they would have to file taxes on the muggle side. Or would they. "I don't know, Poppy. I still think they're cheating us."

"Goblins cheat wizards? I'm shocked, Harry. Simply shocked. It isn't like we haven't fought several wars with them and still treat them as our inferiors or something." She shrugged. "You are probably right. Do you want to spend a day or two melting down your gold and looking about muggle London trying to find a way to get a better price. Do you even know where to go sell gold in London?"

Harper sighed. "No, I don't." It just rankled to know she was being cheated. Given the amount of money in the Potter vaults it wasn't worth arguing over the ruinous exchange rate, but if she ever wanted to spend serious money on the muggle side, then she would certainly look into it. Although if she was transferring serious money across it would probably be worth it to have her money laundered. If she bought a house, a car or even rented an apartment, a bank would be curious as to the source of funds. "It still seems like they're robbing us blind."

"Of course they are, they're goblins. They can be trusted to keep to the letter of their word. They're very honorable, but they almost always come out on top in any deal involving gold."

That was puzzling in itself. The muggle world ran on money. So why was the wizarding world, which obviously had no great trust of goblins, willing to trust goblins with their economy and their riches. That really didn't make good sense. However, Harper didn't have any fight left in her so she shut up and got her money exchanged.

**A/N:** Yes, I changed the exchange rate. 5 pounds per galleon just does not match for a gold coin the size of a hubcap. Nor the size of coins shown in the movies.


	9. Chapter 9 - Madame Malkin

**Madame Malkin's**

"Now dear, first stop robes. We should get you out of those transfigured things before they fall to pieces."

Harper looked over to Madame Pomfrey. "Fall to pieces?"

"Transfigured things aren't as durable as the real thing. They also won't take an enchantment. Why do you think we have shops? If wizards could just transfigure everything, we'd never need to buy anything."

Harper nodded. That made sense. Transfiguration wasn't all powerful after all, but what about the animagus transformation? Or was that a different case. A person wasn't a thing after all. "I'll certainly be glad to have clothes of my own."

Madame Malkin was a short smiling witch dressed all in mauve. Poppy obviously knew her, because they exchanged hugs before Poppy introduced Harry. "Now keep it hushed, but this is Harry Potter."

Harper found it awkward to hear a woman older than her mother squeal like a schoolgirl, especially when she was squealing over her, but that's what Madame Malkin did. "A honor to meet you Mr. Potter, a real honor."

The real Harry Potter probably would have shrunk from the attention. However, Harper knew how to smile regardless of how she felt. "And I'm so happy to meet you. I'm really looking forward to getting my Hogwarts robes."

"I'm sure you are, Mr. Potter. So what do you need?"

Poppy spoke up. "The Hogwarts standard: three plain work robes, pointed hat and a winter cloak. Add a dress robe. He'll need the self-ironing and self-cleaning enchantments on everything."

"For the dress robe, do you want that in the Potter colors?"

"I don't know. What are the Potter colors?"

"Let me get the book." Madame Malkin pulled a fat tome from beneath her desk and started flipping through it. "Potter, Potter, here it is. Hmm, white on black. He's going to look like he's wearing a muggle tuxedo, for his dress robe."

Harper shrugged. "That's fine, Madame Malkin. What about the other clothes I needed?"

"What other clothes?"

"He means clothes besides robes. Madame Malkin only does robes. We'll get the others elsewhere."

Harry shrugged. "That's fine."

Poppy nodded. "I've got some things of my own to look after. You'll be a while getting fitted. I'm going to leave you in Madame Malkin's hands."

Harper felt an odd shiver at the words. Wasn't that what had happened to Harry in book one? Hagrid had left him. Maybe she was off to buy her an owl. Harper said good-bye and was soon being fitted when two more people arrived. Her eyes almost popped out of Harry's head because the pair had to be Lucius and Draco Malfoy. They shouldn't be here! Harry ran into Draco Malfoy during his fitting in the books, but she was weeks before that. It shouldn't be until the end of July, but Hogwarts had just let out for the summer. She didn't know the exact date, but it must be sometime in June. That meant that Draco was doing his Hogwarts shopping early. Why? She'd escaped the Dursley's. Was there some kind of supernatural force at work here guiding things back onto the track of the story? What other possibility could it be? It was like she and Draco were destined to meet here!

If that was the case, then how much control did she have over events? Would she be doomed to live out all the main plot points for all the books no matter how she struggled? No, that couldn't be true. She was away from the Dursley's and going to be in Madame Pomfrey's care. She was already at Hogwarts. Poppy was like a mother hen. She'd never let her go back to the Dursley's. Then what did this mean? Was she only able to go so far off track without being reigned in?

All the while she thought these things one of Madame Malkin's assistants took her measurements. She hardly heard what Draco and Lucius said at all. Before she knew it Lucius had walked away and Draco was getting fitted out right beside her.

"Hello," said Draco, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes." Harper was so thankful for all her experience in smiling kindly while keeping her own feelings locked inside. She wanted nothing more than to run screaming from the store. She'd worried about being a pawn of Dumbledore. Was she doomed to be a pawn of fate as well?

"My father's next door buying my books and my mother's up the street looking at wands." He spoke with a bored drawling voice full of self-importance. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow. Have you got your own broom?"

"No, doesn't make any sense to have my own broom this year when I couldn't bring it Hogwarts."

Draco shrugged. "You can't ride it at Hogwarts, but you can still practice at home. I do. Father says it will be a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"Nobody really does until they're sorted do they?"

"True, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Harper knew where she was heading, Gryffindor. What was more interesting to her was the little flash of anger on Madame Malkin's face when Draco insulted Hufflepuff. "I don't think Hufflepuff would be so bad. There is something to be said for loyalty and hard work." Harper raised her voice. "Madame Malkin, what house were you in?"

"Hufflepuff." She said it without hint of accusation. "I agree. Loyalty and hard work are admirable qualities, Mr. Potter."

Oh crap, she'd just been outed. She tried to stay calm and watch Malfoy.

Draco's mouth dropped. Apparently the Slytherin-to-be needed lessons in not revealing his emotions. "You're Harry Potter!"

"So I've been told." Okay, getting to see Draco Malfoy lose control was worth something.

Madame Malkin's assistant wasn't all that controlled either. She sniggered. "Mr. Potter, we're done with you. I'll get your robes and ring you up."

"Go ahead, but I'll have to wait for Madame Pomfrey to return to pay." Draco Malfoy was a brat and a future Death Eater, but did it have to be so? Maybe this meeting was somehow fated to happen, but maybe Draco feeling like a fool here was part of the reason he and Harry had their rivalry. She could at least try to change it. This boy wasn't a Death Eater yet. "I think we're getting off on the wrong foot. Unless I'm completely mistaken you're Lord Malfoy's son. If we're both sorted like our parents, I'll end up in Gryffindor and you'll end up in Slytherin, but today we're just two soon-to-be Hogwarts servants." Harper stuck out her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, my name is Harry Potter."

Draco eyed the proffered hand like it was a snake, but then he stuck out his own hand. "Draco Malfoy. So you're really Harry Potter? And have you got — you know…" He pointed to Harper's forehead.

She lifted up her bangs to show the lightning scar.

"So that's where You-Know-How —?"

"Yes, but I can't remember any of it." Why did this sound familiar? It wasn't what had happened in the story, but she had a strong feeling of déjà vu.

The bell over the door jangled as Poppy entered. "Harry, still being sized?"

He turned back to Poppy. "No, I'm done." He turned back and waved at Malfoy. "I expect we'll be seeing each other again. It was good meeting you, Draco."

Draco still seemed a little dazed. "Good meeting you too, Harry."

Poppy paid quickly and rushed Harry out of the store before explaining. "Harry, that was Lord Malfoy's son."

Harper nodded. Although now that she thought of it, how could Harry Potter know that? "I know that. He was quick to brag about his father. Is there something wrong with Lord Malfoy or his son?"

"Lord Malfoy was a Death Eater. He claimed to have been controlled by the Imperius Curse, but… so did many."

As long as Poppy and Madame Malkin didn't compare notes on exactly what was said, then she'd probably gotten away with it, but she had to be more careful not to reveal her knowledge from the books. "Okay, maybe you should tell me about any others infamous former Death Eaters that everyone knows about. That way I'll know to steer away from them in the future."

Poppy frowned. "We'll talk about it at home."

Harper smiled. Home. She had a home with the Pomfrey's and her screwup seemed to have gone unnoticed. "But first we're going shopping right? I want my books and wand! I can't wait to do magic."


	10. Chapter 10 - Octavia

**Octavia**

Harper thought the shopping trip had gone very well, both in Diagon Alley and muggle London. She'd gotten all her basic spells books, her wand (11 inches long made of holly with a phoenix core—the twin to Voldie's), glasses, a book bag with a pretty hefty expansion charm on it, muggle clothes, shoes, calligraphy pens, a gramophone, vinyl records and even the typewriter. London had been almost impressive as Diagon Alley. Getting around London with Poppy had been very entertaining. Harper had been very impressed with the subway system in London: fast, mostly clean and easy to understand. Poppy did not like the underground at all and hadn't enjoyed their taxi ride any better. However, Poppy had loved the calligraphy pens and purchased a set for her own. All in all, the only real disappointment had been that she was unable to find a book on wizard etiquette. That was something Steven Pomfrey fixed when he showed her the library and helped her check out _A Wizard's Complete Guide to Gentlemanly Conduct_ by Cleon Martine and _Society: How to Behave_ by Elwyn Post.

The Pomfrey's proved to be good people. Poppy wasn't ever going to replace her own mother, but it didn't take long before she really felt attached to the kindly woman. Steven was a bit gruff, but he quickly became her mentor in magic. It had taken her a few days to catch on, but eventually she had cottoned on to the fact that he never did magic. In a tearful private conversation Poppy had admitted that her husband's magic was failing and he was little more than a squib now. Apparently that just sometimes happened to witches and wizards sometimes in old age and there was no cure. Harper had tried to comfort Poppy as best she could. Afterwards she always made it a point to be kind to Steven and never ask him to do magic. Yet, despite never doing magic himself, it was Steven who was her primary teacher.

One thing she'd never understood from the Harry Potter books was why Harry hadn't read any of his books before school started. He got his books on how to do magic on his birthday at the end of June. He didn't go to school until September. He spent two months farting around playing with Hedwig! Harper couldn't wait. She had her books. She had her wand. She wanted to learn spells already! The only thing holding her back was haven't made the journey on the Hogwarts express. According to Steven and Poppy, and confirmed in Hogwarts, A History, the Hogwarts express wasn't merely a mode of transportation. It was also ritual. The Hogwarts Express followed a path along ley lines and was supposed to help awaken young witches and wizards so that they could do intentional magic. Before the train was built it had been a carriage processional.

Fortunately the Hogwarts Express wasn't mandatory. It was just considered a jump start and more important for those with weaker magic. It hadn't taken much begging to get Steven Pomfrey to agree to teach her. So she started spending half her half her day reading, another couple of hours talking to him about what she read, and then more time practicing under his supervision. Her first spell was _Lumos_. She didn't get it the first time, or the second, or the third, but under Steven's patient tutorage she could create a light by the end of her first day. She was a real witch, even if she looked like a wizard.

In the evening she'd join the Pomfreys and dine with the rest of the faculty and staff. The faculty wing had its own small dining room. During the summer months the custom was that the professors took their meals in their own rooms for breakfast and lunch, but they always ate in the faculty dining room in the evening. She met Flitwick, McGonagall, Filch, Sinistra, Kettleburn and the Vectors: Septima and her daughter Octavia. All of them were very controlled about it. None of them seemed intimidated by her fame and she rather liked that. She was on her best manners in return. After all, being on good terms with the professors was something that might serve her well later. The ones she worried about were gone somewhere. Snape was off gathering rare potion ingredients. Dumbledore was at a meeting of the International Confederation of Warlocks. As for Quirrell he was never mentioned. Harper wasn't sure why, but was glad he wasn't around.

Steven flat out refused to give more lessons after supper. He insisted that she not only did she need to relax and enjoy herself, but that she also needed time to grow into her magic. Since it was on her list to live life, she didn't complain too much. Besides she was growing quite fond of her foster family. He and Poppy settled in to talk and listen to the Wizarding Wireless Network. The music was mostly old stuff, but sometimes they'd let her bring out the gramophone she'd bought and listen to it. They didn't really like anything close to modern, but they did enjoy some of the Beatles. They also talked a great deal. This was the most difficult time for Harper because they sometimes tried to pry into her past. She shared a few stories from her past that she knew from the books, like the time that Harry had used accidental magic to apparate. Mostly she played the abused child card and didn't want to talk about the Dursleys. They soon accepted that she wanted to leave that in the past and the talks became less awkward and more informative. She was able to ask a lot of questions about how the wizarding world worked: what was the Wizengamot, how much power did the Minister of Magic have, why don't wizards counterfit muggle money, and such. It was all very interesting, so much so that the conversations wandered and Harper often forgot that there were key facts she should dig out.

First thing in the morning she went jogging. She'd started the habit on her second morning back. Seeing London and Diagon Alley had been fun, but she hadn't gotten to take that walk along the lake. After breakfast she'd changed into muggle clothes and gone for a walk. While she enjoyed being outside again, she felt restless. Somewhere the walk turned into a jog and then a run. She had been so sick for so long that she'd forgotten the joy of just pushing her body. It had all started at a whim, picking up the pace, then faster and faster. Before she knew it she her heart was pounding, her limbs were pumping and she was running full out. She just kept on until she ran out of steam and collapsed exhausted on the grass. For Harper that first run was just as magical as being apparated or choosing her wand. She wasn't really able to recapture that first wild run. While she had the body of an eleven year-old boy, she didn't have the ability to just randomly play. She needed a more focused activity and running made her feel alive. So she made it a part of her routine to get up and go for a run around the lake. Both Poppy and Steven thought she was a little bit balmy, but they wrote it off as a muggle thing.

Four days after she arrived as she walked back from her morning jog she ran into Octavia Vector. Octavia seemed to be waiting for Harper. Although Harper had no clue why. Octavia had appeared interested in her at first meeting, but their conversation had quickly run down. Perhaps that was because of their apparent ages. How much did a seventeen year old witch have in common with a muggle-raised boy who hadn't yet turned eleven? Although if Octavia only knew it they were truly the same gender and almost the same age. So why was she here now?

Harper offered the waiting witch a smile. "Hello."

"Hello." Octavia answer sounded a bit forced. Indeed there always seemed to be something a little off about Octavia. She was practically her mother's shadow. Certainly there was a family resemblance. They had the same long thin black hair, the same fair skin and the same strong nose, but it ran deeper. They moved, talked alike, and Octavia seemed unusually attached to her for a girl of her years.

"Um, nice day for a jog." But not a good time to talk. "I think I'm going to go take a shower now, though."

Octavia nodded. "Septima suggested that I should show you around the castle. She believes that you are an important person. As you and I are close in age we should socialize."

Harper suppressed the smirk that tried to form. "I'd like that. I haven't seen much inside the castle yet. I understand it is mostly locked."

"I have Septima's key."

"You call her mum by her first name?"

"Are we beginning the conversation now or did you wish to bathe yourself first?"

"Bath first. Where should I meet you after?"

"I will return with you and await in the hallway."

As Alice said, curiouser and curiouser. "Fine with me. I'll try to hurry." The Pomfrey's apartment was already starting to feel like her home and she walked in with her usual exchange of greetings.

"Harry, Octavia was looking for you," said Steven once the hellos were out of the way. "She want to take you on a tour of Hogwarts."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," added Poppy.

"I do, but is there something wrong with Octavia? Was her mother a Death Eater or something?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, no, nothing like that. Her family is just a little… unconventional. She doesn't usually seek out companionship. Especially not male companionship."

Lightbulb or should that be _Lumos_? Octavia and apparently her mother were both lesbians. While it hadn't been said, she'd picked up pretty quickly that the Pomfrey's were very traditional about male and female roles. "I don't think I'll have a problem. It's not like she'll give me cooties."

"What are cooties?" asked Steven puzzled.

"It's a muggle joke. If I have to explain it, then it's not funny. Don't worry. I'll be fine. I should take a shower first."

A little while later after the shower, and after once again convincing Steven and Pomfrey that she'd be fine, she was meeting up with Octavia again and getting a tour of Hogwarts. Octavia took her duties as a tour guide serious. They started at the entrance and as they went she didn't merely show the castle but related interesting tidbits.

Harper tried to pay attention to the Hogwarts history trivia, but she was more interested in locating the library and the seventh floor corridor that housed the room of requirement. Although all she could remember about the Room of Requirement was that it was on the seventh floor. She vaguely remembered some kind of painting, but that wasn't helpful. She was also keeping an eye out for girl's toilets. The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets would be in one of them, somewhere near the main hall.

Octavia continued her tour talk, but her delivery was off. She had a very stiff and formal manner. Was it because she was pureblooded? So far Harper hadn't done more than glance at her etiquette books. Perhaps that was a mistake, but she had little choice but to wing it.

"Um, Octavia, is this the socialization you had in mind?"

"We are conversing. During the summer months tourists and parents of prospective students sometimes come to see Hogwarts. I've often led tours."

"Then have I done something to offend you?"

"You have given me no cause for offense. In fact, I have noticed that you are very well behaved for a male child of your years. Perhaps that is another reason Septima suggested that I attempt socialization with you." She paused for a moment. "I believe that I am the problem. This is the point in conversation where you tell me that I am strange or weird. Since you are muggle-raised, you may instead use the adjective robotic."

This conversation had to be the weirdest one she'd had since waking up as Harry Potter and that was saying a lot. "I noticed that you were being overly formal, but I don't know that I would go that far. I'm known as the boy-who-lived. I'm pretty strange myself." And Octavia didn't know the half of it.

"That is true."

"Octavia, is there a reason for your overly formal manner of speech?"

"Yes."

Harper sat down on a bench. "Why don't you sit down and tell me about it?"

"As you wish." She sat down. "I have a proud and unusual lineage. I am the eighth incarnation of Tryphena Vector. My ancestor rediscovered the Parthenogenesis potion used by the Amazons of ancient Greece to induce self-pregnancy. Since that time each of us have continued that tradition and we have achieved a kind of immortality." As she spoke, her words grew in conviction and emotion."

Harper frowned. "So you're a clone?"

"Good! You understand the concept. The muggle term clone is close, but not sufficient. As a clone is a duplicate in body, but not in mind. I also spend two hours a day at the pensieve of my ancestors."

Harper frowned. "At what age did you start this?"

"From the day I was born. Septima had to help until I was old enough to view a pensieve on my own. I can tell this disturbs you. This is normal to me. We have achieved Tryphena's dream and achieved immortality. It is comforting for me to be part of a glorious chain that will stretch on and on into the future."

Disturbed was too mild a word. Octavia had basically been brainwashed since birth to be a receptacle for the memories of her ancestors and was no doubt already planning to do the same to her own daughter eventually. However, this was apparently known and allowed by the wizarding world. Octavia wasn't acting like it was a huge secret. Poppy had obviously dissaproved, but hadn't done anything. Harper couldn't help feeling that someone should do something. Well, she was someone, but what could she do? "Octavia, why do you want to socialize with me? You're what? A seventeen year-old girl with the memories that go back centuries? Why me? I'm not even eleven."

"You are a notable person, Harry Potter. You are the Boy-Who-Lived. We try to interact with notable people. That is one reason Septima chose to teach here with Dumbledore. He is a notable person as well. We will hand down our memories of you to our future incarnations."

"Oh-kay." That was more than a bit creepy, but on the other hand it was an offer of friendship from a witch that had hundreds of years of memories to draw upon. Friendship? Could it be that simple? By simply being her friend could he work on making her less of a copy and more of her own person? He didn't see how it could hurt her and maybe it would even help her. "So by interact, you mean that you want to be my friend?"

"That is correct."

"Alright. I don't know how well this will work, but we can try."

"How do we try?"

Harper found it sad that this girl thought she had achieved immortality, but instead had lost any spark that made her a real person. Given what happened to Voldemort with his horcruxes he wondered if it was always thus. That humanity just wasn't meant to have immortality. "Let's take it one step at a time. Maybe you come jogging with me in the mornings, or we could go swimming, or just explore Hogwarts."

"This meets with approval."

Why did she feel like she'd just been assimilated by the Borg collective?

* * *

**A/N**: I didn't plan to write this much about Octavia. My inital intent was simply not to have Harper be the only child at Hogwarts over the summer. I picked Septima Vector from among the less documented professors. It seemed logical that Septima's child would be name Octavia and everything else grew from there. I'm still working out the details of year one, but let me assure you that she will not be replacing Hermione as the resident know-it-all. I also think in a world filled with werewolves and mixed bloods (Fleur, Hagrid & Flitwick) that there are probably other strange and unusual people out there. Consider Octavia my contribution to the mix.


	11. Chapter 11 - Differences

**Differences**

For Harper the days seemed to fly by although she felt like she was making slow progress in learning magic. She wanted to know everything immediately. While she knew that she would have to face Voldemort eventually, she was more driven by the sheer thrill of being able to do magic. Magic was fun! She never enjoyed history, science or math this much back when she went to muggle school in her past life. Her repertoire of spells was growing: _Lumos_ to create light, _Nox_ to make a small patch of darkness, _Incendio_ to create flame, _Ventus_ to create a gust of air, _Aguamenti_ for a spray of water, and _Tellirus_ for trickle of sand. The elemental spells were the most basic, but she had mastered them all. They were also supposed to be a way to gauge her strength. Anyone could create fire with _Incendio_ or light with _Lumos_, but the more power poured into the spell, the larger the manifestation. Steven was impressed by the amount of light she could generate with Lumos. In transfiguration she wasn't doing as well. She was still working on matchsticks to needles. Potions was all theory as the Pomfreys didn't want him brewing potions in their apartment and Steven had a difficult time even getting around the Pomfrey's apartment.

Poppy became her instructor on matters of etiquette. The books Steven found proved to be outdated and of questionable value. Even on formal occasions pureblood families weren't that formal. Most of what she needed to know boiled down introductions and greetings, although there were some real eye-openers. Pureblood marriages were apparently enforced by binding magical contracts. The contract not only bound the witch and wizard together, but allied their families as well. According to _A Wizard's Complete Guide to Gentlemanly Conduct_ a wise wizard would be sure the contract included an obedience clause if the bride was less than enthusiastic about the match. To Harper that sounded very close to slavery. Poppy waved it off claiming it was rarely done these days and that a magical contract could only be signed under free will. Another surprise was that admonishment never to let your hand stray near your wand in a heated discussion. Poppy totally supported the books on that.

"Harper, it's the same thing as reaching for a loaded handgun in the muggle world. A wand is a lethal instrument. It is not a toy or something to be brandished about in anger. That rule applies even to muggle-borns and even at Hogwarts. All wizard children must learn this. Reaching for a wand in anger could lead to a duel. An adult wizard is justified in drawing on you if you go for you wand. Honestly, that's a big reason for all the other etiquette rules. Every witch and wizard carries a deadly weapon with them at all times. I'm not even counting the unforgiveables. Even a _Reducto_ can be deadly."

It made sense from that perspective, but did not match the books. Harper certainly remembered shouted threats all the time between Harry and Malfoy. "So if a student reaches for a wand and is making threats at me, then I should curse them first?"

"Circe no! You should dodge and cry for help. Students aren't allowed to duel at Hogwarts outside of a dueling club."

Steven snorted. "Poppy, he's muggle-raised. Tell him how it really works."

"I'm a member of the Hogwarts faculty and that's school policy and you…"

"And I'm no longer employed by Hogwarts. Harry, I'm going to give you the same advice I gave my children when they were at Hogwarts. It is officially against the school policy, but Poppy treats students all the time for minor hexes and she doesn't pry too hard into how it happened. There is a little bit of a kids will be kids attitude. It's better that you're trying your wands out when all you can manage is a Jelly-Legs Jinx. That being said, Poppy was right about threatening with a wand in hand. If you have a wand in hand and make a threat — that's justification enough."

"Then will you teach me a few hexes, sir?"

"No, I will not. You'll have to learn on your own or from your classmates." He puffed on his pipe. "While it is quietly condoned, I won't encourage you by teaching you hexes. I'm sure you'll learn plenty soon enough. Kids always do. Oh, and one more thing. You are so curious about pureblood etiquette, here is another pureblood custom. If a witch hexes you, then stiff upper lip. Don't curse her back. Just go to the infirmary and let Poppy put you straight."

That sounded crazy. He wouldn't stand still while Bellatrix cursed him to death. "Why?"

"A pureblood gentleman does not strike a lady," said Poppy reentering the conversation now that it was about etiquette. "Witches duel among themselves. Wizards duel among themselves, but witches and wizards don't duel each other."

Harper huffed. "Is this the women are the weaker sex prejudice? I can understand that slightly from muggles, but why in the wizarding world? Witches and wizards are equal in power."

"Equal in power, but wizards are usually more adept at dueling. Witches are usually more adept at healing." He gave his wife a fond smile.

"If you say so." Harper wasn't at all convinced that there was a real difference in magical talent. Rather there was a societal expectation that boys were better at dueling and girls at healing. She was also pretty sure that all this wasn't in the books. Or was it? Hadn't there been a time when Malfoy had been shooting off his mouth and just sucked it up when Hermione hexed him? While it was a bit insulting, maybe it wasn't all bad that chivalry wasn't dead in the wizarding world. "You mentioned dueling clubs more than once. Does Hogwarts have a dueling club?"

"We should, but we don't," said Poppy.

"Dueling is a major sport in the wizarding world, as big as Quidditch, but at Hogwarts it is the responsibility of the Defense Against Dark Arts professor to sponsor the dueling club. It's actually in the school rules. However, with the turnover in that post, we haven't had a dueling club in years."

Harper nodded. She knew about the curse on the DADA position. However, she had another thought. "You mentioned the school rules. Is there a Hogwarts student handbook that lists all the rules?"

"Of course, there is a student handbook," said Poppy. "You normally get one with your invitation letter, but we'll dig one up for you."

The existence of a student handbook was another interesting point of diversion from the books. It wasn't the only one. The library had a card catalog. It had a very impressive card catalog which indexed books by author, title, subject, potion, and spell. The potions and spell indices looked more useful than they actually were. If you knew the name of a potion or spell, you could look up books about it. So she could, for example, look up calming draught, but if you didn't know the name of the spell they weren't that useful. Still, it was hard to understand how the golden trio could have possibly spent months looking up Nicholas Flamel. He had his own biography that was easy to find. As another test it took her less than five minutes to find a book on water spells that included the bubble-head charm. So much for all the difficulty the golden trio had finding a way for Harry to breathe underwater in Goblet of Fire.

Another departure from the stories, the library was warded. On her first tour of the library Steven told her how removing a book from the library without checking it out would set off an alarm. That meant stealing _Moste Potente Potions_ from the restricted section wouldn't be possible. For that matter the restricted section was guarded by an age line and books could only be checked out by request and provided by the librarian.

More differences turned up during her tours with Octavia. Harper found the teenage witch frustrating. Had she been her proper age and her proper body, she could have been a rolemodel for Octavia: get her started about Teen Witch Weekly, boys, and witch's fashions. Stuck in the body of an eleven year-old boy she couldn't do that. Most of their conversations were awkward and stilted, but Octavia continued wanting to 'socialize'. Getting the peculiar Ravenclaw to spend time outside was a challenge. After just one morning run Octavia decided she had no interest in getting up early to run circles around a lake. Harper was able to convince her to go swimming sometimes, but Harper mostly used their time together to familiarize herself with the castle and grounds.

Early on in their tours she'd been surprised by discovering Hogwarts had a chapel inside and a stone ring on the grounds. Both were used for religious services. Harper was fairly certain that religion had never been mentioned at all in the books…

"How do you wish to socialize today?" asked Octavia. "We have toured all of Hogwarts that is not forbidden or locked. Would you like to play wizard's chess or Go?"

Harper put on her friendly smile. "Maybe we'll play Go later." She had been interested in learning wizard chess. If she could get good herself, then she wouldn't need Ron Weasley to defeat the chessmen trap guarding the stone. However, a few games had proved she was useless at chess. She was just as useless at Go, but was getting better. More importantly Octavia enjoyed playing Go. Their games were one of the few times that her odd almost friend almost seemed halfway normal. "Any other ideas?"

"If your guardians would allow, we could go to Hogsmeade and socialize with some of the day students who attend Hogwarts."

"Day students? What are day students?"

"Students who attend Hogwarts, but return to their homes in Hogsmeade at night, except for those night when they have evening Astronomy classes. There are guest rooms in their assigned houses for such occasions."

Harper wasn't sure if this was a true point of divergence or just something glossed over in the books. No mention had been made of them, but they could have just been glossed over. "How many day students are there?"

"Dozens of them. Hogsmeade is the only all wizard village in England. A large portion of the wizarding population lives there. Some wizarding families relocate to Hogsmeade just so their children can attend Hogwarts as day students. Most adult wizards apparate or floo to work, so it doesn't really matter where they live."

Was this another change or not? Harper couldn't be sure. It surely sounded like something important hadn't been in the books. Hogsmeade hadn't even been mentioned until Harry's third year. On the other hand, maybe it just had never been relevant to the plot. It wasn't like the books covered every minute of Harry's life.

"Harry?" asked Octavia. "Are you listening?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. I'll ask Poppy if I can go to Hogsmeade." Although she wasn't all that ready to face other kids her age. She knew that eventually she would have to face other students, but she felt that other kids would be much more likely to notice something off about her (Octavia excluded due to being rather bizarre herself). So she would rather postpone meeting them until later. Besides she had a better idea. "Could you show me a few hexes and teach me about dueling?"

Octavia paused as she often did before she responded. "You are quite advanced for your age, but I am not sure that would be entirely appropriate. You are still underage. Why do you need to know hexes? Who do you want to hex?"

"I don't really want to curse anyone, but won't most purebloods arrive knowing a few jinxes? As for being underage: you're seventeen, and we're at Hogwarts. So we wouldn't be breaking any laws."

"True. I suppose that I can show you a few simple hexes."

"Cool! When can we start?" Getting Octavia to teach her dueling and simple hexes was a major victory as far as she was concerned. Transfiguration, charms, potions and the rest were important, but she knew that she would have to fight Death Eaters and Voldemort in the future. The sooner she could start practicing the better.

While learning to defend herself was a big step forward, all the differences she was finding worried her. Her time was ticking and she couldn't be sure her foreknowledge was accurate. She did manage to verify some things. She found the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor, it was opposite a tapestry of a wizard trying to teach trolls to do ballet. She deliberately did not look for the Diadem of Ravenclaw. She did not want to handle a horcrux until she could destroy it. She also found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, but she beat a hasty retreat when she heard Myrtle moaning. Thankfully she didn't run into the morose ghost.

Her plan to destroy the horcrux hit a snag — she had no way to get back to the surface from the Chamber of Secrets. She didn't have a phoenix or a broom. There had to be a staircase or an elevator somewhere. After all Ginny Weasley went down to the Chamber, sent the snake out to kill and came back up. However, there was no guarantee the basilisk would know the way up. It might be something known only to Tom Riddle. She spent a few days pestering Poppy and Steven to be allowed flying lessons, but they didn't understand her urgency and told her to wait a few weeks and study under Madame Hooch.

Harper set the horcrux aside a bit to focus on Occulmency. Most of the books on Occulmency were in the restricted section, but she found two introductory texts in the main section of the library. She had plenty of unobserved time, so she spent some of her free hours reading up about how to protect her mind. Most of the books were taken up with different meditation exercises, but there were instructions on building a basic defense. Toward the end she found references to more advanced techniques: presenting false memories, trapping mental intruders, and compartmentalizing one's mind to shut out pain or mental control. While all of these sounded extremely useful to learn based on Harry's history of trouble, there just weren't any details. Without more to go on, she started practicing meditation on her own. After trying multiple techniques, focusing on her breathing seemed to work for her. She started practicing at least three times a day, but she didn't find it easy to think of nothing.

Towards the end of June she received an owl from Shacklebolt. It contained the proof she'd demanded. Vernon and Petunia Dursley had both pled guilty and were spending five years in prison. Dudley was in the custody of Aunt Marge and on probation. Professors came and went. She met Snape and Dumbledore. Snape was rude as expected. Dumbledore acted like a dotty grandfather. Neither seemed to take particular notice of her, but she did her best to clear her thoughts when she was around them. She was surprised to notice that her birthday, or rather Harry's birthday was rapidly approaching. Quirrell/Voldemort would be arriving soon and she still hadn't destroyed the one horcrux that was easily accessible. She had no way of knowing if Voldemort would be able to sense the destruction of a horcrux or not, but she'd rather not have him present at Hogwarts when she did the deed. She was rapidly running out of time.


	12. Chapter 12 - Horcrux Hunting

**Hocrux Hunting**

The solution to her problem was obvious once she thought of it. She needed a broom. The Room of Requirement, when set to lost things, was full of junk. Surely sometime during the history of Hogwarts someone had lost a broom. That made her plan simple. One, get a broom and the Diadem of Ravenclaw from the Room of Requirement. Two, enter the Chamber of Secrets. Three, have the basilisk bite the crown. Four, fly back out on the broom. She put her plan into motion that same day. After her afternoon lessons with Steven she went to the seventh floor corridor and paced back and forth wishing to find the room full of hidden things.

The room appeared. She'd been there before, but only to stick her nose into and be certain she'd found the Room of Requirement. This time she was on a mission. She walked into the room which looked like an earthquake hit an antique store. The largest items were broken and damaged furniture, but it was mixed in with so much junk. She wondered if the Sword of Gryffindor was here as well. Could this be where the sorting hat pulled it from? Mixed in with the trash were all sorts of things that might be valuable. She was tempted to look at the books, but she could spend hours in here. She worked her way through the mess, looking, looking. She found a broomstick which she kept and then another. The twigs looked less bushy on the second one of them so she kept it, placing it in her bag. She found a mirror.

Surely it wasn't, but it was. She had absolutely no interest in getting sucked into the trap of the Mirror of Erised, but she looked into it and couldn't look away. Her family. Her mother and father together again and her with them. She was whole and healthy, no sign of cancer at all. She was wearing a summer dress and had hair, beautiful long hair that stretched down almost to her waist. Oh, her mother was holding her belly. Her mother was pregnant. Several months along by the look of it. The Harper in the mirror put her hand on her mother's belly and then jumped in surprise. Could it be possible that it was real? There were other worlds after all. She came from one. She pressed up against the mirror, trying to push herself through it, but the glass was cold. She wasn't sure how long she stared lost in that image before sat down and in doing so briefly lost eye contact.

The diadem. She had things to do. She couldn't linger here. She closed her eyes and forced herself to walk away. Her feet felt like they weighed tons. Each step was a struggle. The dream in the mirror called to her, but she couldn't let herself be lost in it. Deliberately she walked away.

Finding the Diadem of Ravenclaw was anticlimactic after that. It was sitting on top of an old gray wig on the pockmocked bust of a wizard. It didn't look like much, just an old tarnished tiara. Supposedly it could make the wearer wise, but after the Mirror of Erised she had absolutely no desire to play around with magical objects. She didn't want anything that had a piece of Voldemort's soul in it anywhere near her thoughts. She almost ran out of the Room of Requirement.

She knew from the light coming through the windows that she'd lost a lot of time. It was getting dark and she would probably miss supper. Poppy and Steven would worry about her. Since the diadem was hidden in her expandable bag, she might be able to sneak it past them and just wait until tomorrow, but she was scared of the horcrux. It tore at Harry Potter when he carried it like the one ring ate at Frodo. Plus she was terrified of facing the basilisk. If she didn't do this now she might chicken out. So she headed to Moaning Myrtle's toilet. She could always tell Poppy and Steven that she got lost. It wasn't like it was hard to do at Hogwarts.

Poking her head she listened for Myrtle, but didn't hear her moaning. So she went straight to the nonfunctioning sink and stared at the snake. Talk as if she was talking to the snake.

"Open," she commanded. Although the sounds that came from her mouth were odd hissing sounds. The tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. The sink moved and sank out of sight and revealed a pipe wide enough for her to slide into.

She looked down the pipe into darkness. This was the point of no return. She could turn back, hide the tiara and wait for Dumbledore to come back. Then she could put it in his hands and tell him that it was one of Voldemort's horcruxes and let him deal with it. It would be safer. Down below lurked a sixty foot snake, its fangs coated with deadly poison, and meeting its gaze would mean instant death. She could just turn aside and trust Dumbledore.

Was that so hard? Sure, he'd been a manipulative old fart in the books, but he had died for his cause. He was one of the good guys wasn't he? But… he'd left Harry with the Dursley's. He had to know about the abuse. Either that or he was so neglectful as a guardian that he'd never checked up on Harry. Plus there was Snape and Binns and Trelawyn. Maybe one of them could be forgiven, but as Headmaster he made the hiring and firing decisions at Hogwarts. Not one of those so-called professors should be anywhere around children. Even Hagrid as a teacher had been a horrible decision. He might know his magical creatures, but his obsession with the dangerous ones made him unfit. How much had he known? How much had he allowed to happen? Trust Dumbledore?

She stepped through the opening and slid down into the pipe into darkness. It was like a waterslide, wet and slimy. The light from above dwindled until she couldn't see and she was thrown from side to side, sliding down, down, down. Finally the pipe leveled out and she was thrown out onto a dirt floor.

"_Lumos_." Light bloomed from her wand as she said the incantation. The light showed her a dark and damp tunnel filled with bones and skulls. She head forward slowly. There was one more door. The darkness felt oppressive, but what scared her more was what lurked beyond. Eventually she came to a solid wall carved with two entwined serpents. Their eyes were set with emeralds. Beyond lurked the basilisk. She stopped and took out the blindfold she packed. Deliberately she blinded herself.

"Open," she commanded. Nothing. The wall was still there.

"Open for the Heir of Syltherin." Still nothing. She couldn't see the snakes. She was speaking English. She took off her blindfold and tried again. "Open."

The snakes moved. The door unlocked and slid open. She closed her eyes. Slowly she stepped inside. She heard slithering.

"Who daresss?" hissed a voice. "Who daresss invade the Chamber of Secretsss?"

Desperately squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed this would work. "I do. Harper Potts. The Heir of Salazar Slytherin." Her voice still hissed, even with her eyes closed. Maybe it was because she was very certain the basilisk was there.

"You ssspeak the true tongue. Isss it time to come forth and hunt and kill?"

The word kill sent a shiver up her spine. "Not today. I have another need of you." She reached into her bag and pulled out the Diadem of Ravenclaw. She tossed it out in front of her. "Destroy it for me. Bite it. Do not swallow it."

"Asss you wissh."

She heard motion, and tried to imagine what was happening. Out of the darkness she felt something brush against her. It was the faintest of sensations, like an evil wind blowing past her and then gone.

"It is done, Harper Pottssss, heir."

"Good, close your eyes and back away."

"My eyesss have been closssed, Massster." The voice grew distant and appeared to move away.

Fearfully Harper opened her eyes. Keeping her gaze down on the ground she walked forward and found what was left of the Diadem of Ravenclaw. It had been more than half melted away by basilisk venom. It was still wet and covered in the venom. Her plan had been to take the diadem back. Someday she wanted to show it to the Gray Lady so she would know it had been found. However, looking at it she didn't dare touch it, not even if she had her dragonhide gloves. It could stay there. This was a secure enough place.

"You have done well. Thank you. I must go now." The sooner she was out of here the better. She closed her eyes and started backing away.

"Massster, will you not let feed?"

"No, not this time. Perhaps next time. Rest now. I will return." She had passed the point where of the door. "Close," she commanded.

Harper felt the rumble of stone and waited for the soft thump of the door closing before she once again dared to open her eyes. Never again, she promised herself. If she ever came down again she was brining a rooster with her so it could kill the basilisk with its crow. It was simply too dangerous to let live. If Voldemort ever got a hold of it, he would add it to his army.

Suddenly it hit her. "I did it!" she cried aloud to the empty chamber. "I did it!" She sank down to the floor and shook quietly in relief. One down. Tom's diary, Gaunt's ring, Slytherin's locket, Helga's cup, and Nagini to go. Then it would be her turn to die, but not today.

She made her way back to the room where the pipe ended and got her broom out of her bag. Now all she had to do was fly up. Since Harry was a natural flyer this should be easy. She laid the broomstick on the ground. "Up."

The broom didn't move.

"Up! Up! Up, damn you. Up!" The broom rolled over a little bit and Harper realized she might be in big trouble. It was obvious that she had not inherited Harry's skill as a flyer. Why hadn't she thought to learn flying before? She'd had a reason. She was forbidden to fly and didn't want to get caught. She had assumed she would be a natural at flying. Now she stuck in the darkness with a bloody big snake. Her mind wanted to run in circles, but panic wouldn't get her out.

She started taking long deep breaths and focused on the mediations she'd been doing to calm and clear her mind. Once she got herself under control she stared again. She focused on the broom, imagined it jumping up to her hand, and commanded it, "Up!"

The broom gave a half-hearted lurch, rose a few feet and fell back down. She kept at it. Frustration didn't help. Clearing her mind helped some. Really focusing on the broom helped more. After many tries it finally leapt to her hand. Carefully she mounted the broom and pushed off. She was briefly airborne before she smacked against the ceiling and fell back to the dusty floor. She tried again and again. She smashed into a lot of walls, but eventually she managed to get the broom aligned with the pipe. It wasn't the graceful ascent that she had imagined. In fact she kept bumping her head painfully against the ceiling, but she eventually made it out of the top and closed the Chamber of Secrets behind her.

The sun was down and she was covered in bruises and slime. Poppy and Steven would be worried. How would she ever explain being hours late and covered in bruises and slime. By the time she'd trudged back, she'd worked out a cover story. She'd found an old broom in an unused classroom and had tried to fly it. After bouncing off several trees she'd fallen into the lake. It wasn't a very good story, but maybe it would pass. Then suddenly she was laughing at herself. She'd just faced a basilisk and destroyed a horcrux. She, little old ordinary Harper Potts, had accomplished a feat worthy of Harry Potter. Whatever punishment she got from the Pomfreys was nothing compared to facing a basilisk.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Hogwarts Express

**The Hogwarts Express**

Harper could have taken the portkey from Hogsmeade to platform nine and three-quarters. However, she had an appointment with destiny to keep. In the last car of the train she would meet Ron Weasley, destined to be her best mate. Meeting Ron would lead to being sorted into Gryffindor and befriending Hermione eventually. So much of her knowledge about what would happen revolved around Ron and Hermione. It was in her best interest to stick close to the books. She had her back-up plans, but hopefully they wouldn't be needed. That's why she had Poppy to apparate them to King's Cross Station. The station was crowded, but no one took particular notice of one first year boy making his way by himself to the back of the train. He took a seat in the last car and waited.

There they were, right on schedule, the Weasleys outside his window taking their goodbyes and sending off their kids to Hogwarts. Any second now Ron Weasley would walk through that compartment. The door slid open.

Draco Malfoy walked into the car. "Potter! There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Mind if we join you? Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle." He waved at Tweedleedee and Tweedledumber.

Harper felt a sickening feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with the Hogwarts express lurching into motion. This was supposed to be where she met her best friend. She hadn't been that excited about being friends with Ron fair-weather-only Weasley, but Malfoy was a hundred times worse. Ron was just a prat. Malfoy was a death eater wannabe. Still she didn't have time to think things through. She had been introduced and there was a protocol for that among purebloods.

She slapped her polite smile on, stood up, and stuck out her hand. "Crabbe, pleased to meet you, I'm Harry Potter."

Crabbe shook hands with a bone crushing grip. "Vincent Crabbe."

He turned to Malfoy's other minion and again stuck out his hand to be crushed. "Goyle, pleased to meet you as well, I'm Harry Potter."

"Gregory Goyle." He again did the handcrushing thing.

Harper repeated the handshake with Malfoy. "And it is good to see you again, Malfoy. Would you mind if you and I had a few words alone? No offense meant on your companions."

Malfoy looked genuinely puzzled. "Crabbe, Goyle, leave us for a bit. Potter and I need to converse."

Harper sat down and gestured to the seat beside her. Ron Weasley was looking better and better, but Malfoy was what she got. "So Crabbe and Goyle have aligned themselves with House Malfoy, I take it?"

"Yes, but that wasn't what you wanted to talk about, was it Potter?"

"Not really, but I do admire you picking up some muscle. However, I have the feeling that I was the next person on the list to be recruited to your entourage."

Malfoy frowned. "And is there something wrong with that?" He was starting to show his usual peevishness.

Now comes the tricky part. "Yes. First of all, our families are traditionally on the opposite ends of things. Your father was Death Eater. Oh, I know cleared of all charges, he was under the Imperious Curse, but still, he was a Death Eater. As for the Potters… Death Eaters killed my family. Second, I'm going to Lord Potter as soon as I'm done at Hogwarts. You will still be the heir until your father dies. Maybe I should be adding you to my entourage."

"Now, just a second. My father is an influential man. Your family is dead and gone. You're not Lord Potter yet."

Yes, even Ron Weasley would be better than this. "I know your father is a powerful and influential man. I don't want to insult him or you. Also just because your father was a Death Eater, that doesn't necessarily make you guilty." Even though Harper knew he was as guilty as sin. "Nor am I going to overlook an offer of friendship, but if you want a chance of that happening you absolutely have to drop the strong arm stuff and approach me as equals."

"You can't tell me what to do, Potter!"

How did Lucius Malfoy raise a child this dense? "Nor can you tell me what to do. Malfoy, I'm willing to meet you halfway here. I'm willing to explore friendship as equals. That's a big concession on my part given the history of our two houses. Don't expect me to just fall in line with you."

Malfoy nodded. "Right, right, I get it, Potter. However, I'm warning you that you will have to make choices whether you like it or not. Whoever you befriend, you will be judged by it. Keep to yourself and you'll be judged by that as well. If I were you, I'd stay away from the Mudbloods and Halfbloods."

"Then why are you associating with me? Everyone knows my mother was muggle-born. That makes me Half-blooded."

Malfoy waved that aside. "True, but you're Harry-freaking-Potter. That trumps blood. Besides a little bird tells me that the muggle side of your family didn't treat you very well."

Harper wondered how much Lucius Malfoy knew. If he knew the whole truth, it would be in the Daily Prophet. She suspected that he was just guessing. "We weren't fond of each other." She shrugged. Time for a change of topic. "So, since I have been living with muggles most of my life, what you know about our fellow first years? Who are they and where do you think they'll be sorted?"

The question was all that Malfoy needed to start talking. He started with how Crabbe and Goyle were certainly going to be sorted into Slytherin with him. They were all pureblood families and long time allies with the Malfoys. He expected at least two girls in Slytherin as well: Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greenglass. "Greenglass is the more formidable one of the two. The Parkinsons are leeches, always trying to latch onto someone else's success. The Greenglass family was once formidable, but their star is fading. Susan Bones will be one to watch. Her aunt is Lady Bones and the head of the DMLE. Susan is her heir. You might want to watch for the Longbottom heir. Newell or something. He'll probably sort Gryffindor, but the Potters and the Longbottoms are traditional allies. I hear he's weak though. He'll probably be a Puff."

Harper continued to listen to Malfoy speculate on their fellow students and then he shifted to what was apparently his favorite topic — himself and how important his father was. She kept her polite smile on her face, but inwardly she was cringing. Was this the fate she had chosen for herself? She had sought political power, but she would rather have real friends and not fake ones. Ronald Weasley might have been a fair-weather friend to Harry Potter, but he had been a friend. Harry had been a Gryffindor and had inspired people with his bravery. Did this mean she'd be sorted into Slytherin. She felt like she was dirty already, just being nice to Malfoy. What would seven years be like?

Yet, even spending seven years in the house of backstabbing snakes worried her less than the prospect of Severus Snape as her guardian. She had never bought the 'redemption' of Snape. He'd ratted out the Potters and then begged Voldemort to save Lily for him. No doubt to be controlled under the Imperious Curse and used as his personal sex slave. He had gone to Dumbledore, but that didn't justify the years of torture he heaped on Potter. She got a taste of Harry Potter's life with the Dursley's. Snape would be so much worse.

The trolley witch came with her food and sweets and the both bought lunch and some candies. Harper didn't buy too much in the way of candy, but she wanted some to share. A little bit of candy couldn't hurt. She opened a chocolate frog after eating a sandwich and was totally unsurprised to get Dumbledore.

"Oh, him," sneered Malfoy. "Worst headmaster Hogwarts ever had. My father…" He went on and on.

Harper was already ready to strangle Malfoy. The best part of his speech was that it after the first time through it was so predictable that she could tune it out. She had to wonder why she was even bothering to be polite to the ponce.

A young bushy-haired witch pushed open the door. Her hair and eyes were both brown and Harper knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."

Hermione Granger. Harper smiled at her, a true and genuine smile this time. "I'll be glad to help look for him." She stood up. "Maybe we could go to the prefect car at the front of the train and have one of them cast the Summoning Charm."

"Oh, that would be brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?" Hermione seemed quite pleased at a solution that involved seeking help from authority figures.

Malfoy didn't look as happy. "Potter, I thought we were talking."

Harper looked back at Malfoy. "Yes, we were, but she said it was Neville's toad. As in Longbottom, remember what you were saying about traditional allies. Finding a toad is a small favor…"

Malfoy nodded like he'd said something very wise. "I see. Remember what I warned you about sitting on the fence though, Potter."

Hermione was watching the exchange with interest. "Potter? Are you Harry Potter? I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and Gr_eat Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"So I am, and who might you be?" Harper asked even though she already knew.

"Oh, I'm Hermione Granger."

She hadn't offered her hand so he merely gave a little bow. The polite thing to do would be to introduce Malfoy now, so he did. "Miss Granger, this is Draco Malfoy, heir to the House of Malfoy."

Malfoy sneered at her. "Charmed, I'm sure."

"Oh, hello to you as well," said Hermione.

"So should we go find Neville's toad?" asked Harper and waving Hermione on out. She wanted to be away from Malfoy before Hermione started spilling her muggle heritage.

Fortunately Hermione followed. "House of Malfoy, so he's a pureblood then?"

He closed the door behind them. "Yes, he is and that is probably more important to him than breathing. I take it you're not a pureblood."

"Oh no, nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough. I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me."

"Did you read your student handbook?" asked Harper. "I'm particularly thinking about the part that tells you that it is illegal for underage students to perform magic outside of Hogwarts. You could have had your wand snapped and been expelled before you even reached Hogwarts."

"I've learned the student handbook front to back, thank you very much. Students who are past their eleventh birthday and have never been formally trained are allowed to practices simples only." She said it very primly. "I would _never_ risk being expelled. Perhaps you are the one who needs to read the student handbook."

This was why Hermione had trouble making friends in the books. She could be such a prig. "I'm sorry. I did read the student handbook, but it's two hundred pages long. I didn't see that exception. My apologies." Time for a change of subject. "So what house do you want to be in? Ravenclaw?"

Hermoine appeared to forgive quickly, because she shifted back into her excited fast-talking mode. "I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…"

Harper had the bad feeling she was heading toward Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. It was like that one decision in Madame Malkin's to reach out to Malfoy had set things down a different path. If she was, then she didn't want to be totally cut off from Hermione. "I'm not sure what house I'll be in. Nobody really knows until they were sorted, but you sound like a Ravenclaw to me."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"You've already memorized our textbooks and you've bought and read others? That really says it all Hermione."

"Oh, but Dumbledore was in Gryffindor and he's the greatest wizard of our time."

"And Merlin is considered probably the greatest wizard of all time and he was in Slytherin." Harper was deliberately hoping to nudge Hermione towards Ravenclaw, because then they could at least be friends without the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry. Not that she'd given up all hope for Gryffindor. It could still happen.

"I didn't know about Merlin. He's mentioned in _Hogwarts: A History_, but only in passing and it didn't say he was in Sytherin."

Harper nodded. "You would think Bathilda Bagshot would have mentioned that. While _Hogwarts, A History_ focuses more on the changes to the school over the centuries, that is a pretty significant omission don't you think?" Harper had noticed that Bathilda wasn't exactly an unbiased historian. In her stories witches and wizards were good, muggles were unenlightened, goblins bloodthirsty, and elves (house or other varieties) didn't get mentioned all. For a historian there were few shades of gray in her history. Maybe that's why she conveniently overlooked that Merlin was from Slytherin.

Hermione's looked surprised. "Ooh, you've read it, too. I found it ever so interesting."


	14. Chapter 14 - Choosing Friends

**Choosing Friends**

Hermione continued to talk as they proceeded up the train to toward the prefect car. For some reason her rapid babble was less annoying than Malfoy's bragging. Maybe because Hermione's babble was at least intelligent. Along the way they ran into a chubby boy with blond hair.

"Hermione," he exclaimed. "Did you find Trevor?"

"Oh, no we didn't, but Harry had a brilliant idea. We ask a prefect! They can cast the summoning charm."

Longbottom happily nodded in agreement. "That does sound like it work." He paused and waited.

Harper was pleased to meet Neville. She'd always had somewhat of a soft spot for him in the books. She also quickly grasped they were both waiting for Hermione to make introductions. "I'm Harry Potter, I take it you are Neville Longbottom. I'm very pleased to meet you, Longbottom."

"Harry Potter," squeaked Neville.

"Yes, Harry Potter." Harper offered Neville a genuine smile. Apparently just the name Harry Potter scared him. "I'm here to learn, just like everyone else. In fact, I was hoping to meet you."

"Meet me? Why on earth would you want to meet me?"

"I've been told that the Potters and the Longbottoms have a history of being allies. It doesn't mean we have to be best mates, but maybe we could be friends?"

"You want to be friends with me? Neville Longbottom? I'm little better than a squib."

Harper knew better. Neville may have been comic relief in the first book, but he'd killed Nagini and he wasn't short on bravery. "As I said, we're all here to learn. Maybe you have talents you don't know about yet. So… what do you say we go find this toad?"

"Yes, let's do that."

Hermione had fallen surprisingly silent during this conversation. "I guess we should." She sounded a bit dejected.

Harper wasn't sure why Hermione's enthusiasm for asking people in authority for help had suddenly waned, but they resumed heading to the front of the train. They passed a few others and were nearing the front of the train. Several of them stared at Harry and he heard whispers after they passed, but none of them tried to talk to him. He kept an eye out for the Weasleys or other characters from the story he would know, but didn't recognize anyone until he spotted Octavia sitting in a compartment by herself reading a book. He slid the door open and poked his head in. "Knock-knock. Octavia, I see you're reading, but do you mind if we join you? We could use your help."

"I would not mind socializing with you and your companions. Come in. Will you introduce us?"

Harper did the formal introductions, the way he'd been taught. The Vector's were considered odd, but they were also considered purebloods. Hermione seemed flustered by the introduction and insisted on being called Hermione. Neville seemed to know exactly what was expected. When Octavia offered her hand, he clasped it and bowed, but didn't kiss it (which would have been cheesy).

"So, Harry, what's this assistance you requested?" asked Octavia.

"Longbottom has lost his pet toad. I thought that maybe you could do the summoning charm on it."

Octavia focused on Neville. "Is the toad a mere pet or is it a familiar?"

"I don't know," replied Neville.

"Does that make a difference?" asked Harper.

"What's a familiar?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, it makes a difference. When a witch or wizard forms a strong attachment to a pet, that pet can become a familiar. This confers some advantages both for the witch and the wizard and the familiar. One of the advantages conferred is that they cannot be summoned by other wizards. So which is it?"

Harper wondered if Hedwig had been a familiar. Not that it mattered, since he didn't have Hedwig. He looked to Neville.

Neville shrugged helplessly. "I don't know if my toad is a familiar or not."

Octavia pulled out her wand. "Then I'll try the summoning charm and we'll find out. What is the toad's name?"

"Trevor," replied Neville.

Octavia waved her wand. "Accio Trevor the toad." She slid her wand back into the wrist sheath from which she'd drawn it. "Now we wait. It shouldn't be long if he is on the train."

Hermione had taken a seat by Octavia and looked very interested. "I don't remember anything about familiars in any of the books that I've read about them. When do we find out about them?"

"They're covered if you take Care of Magical Creatures. They're one of the first topics covered." Octavia continued lecturing about familiars a bit while Hermione questioned her. The familiar bond made the pet obedient and conferred a longer life span to the familiar. The wizard in return got some aspects of the familiar, such as a knack for flying (owls), night vision (cats), and health (toads). Other familiars were also possible, but more rare. "Dumbledore has one of the most famous ones. He has a phoenix as a familiar. Of course, not every which or wizard has a familiar. The bonding is a bit of natural magic. There is no spell to force it to happen. And as Trevor has not appeared yet, it appears that Trevor is indeed a familiar. So Neville you should be able to command it to return. Grip your wand and concentrate and just tell Trevor to return to you. He'll find you."

"How do you know so much?" asked Hermione.

"I'm in my seventh year."

"And you're in Ravenclaw?"

Octavia nodded in reply and Hermione looked thoughtful. Trevor hopped into the compartment much to Neville's delight.

Harper wondered if she'd changed her fate back to where it should be. Sitting with Hermione, Longbottom and Octavia felt right. Maybe they would be the golden trio with Neville replacing Ron. That would be just fine with Harper. However, her knowledge from the books wasn't guaranteed. Maybe she should take steps to protect these budding friendships. "Hermione, you asked which house I was going to be sorted into. I don't know, but whatever house we're sorted into let's all be friends."

"Really? When you asked Neville to be friends and not me, then started doing all those fancy introductions I thought you didn't ask me, because my parents aren't magical and yours are, but yes I'd like to be friends, no matter what house we're in."

Neville laughed. "And with you all focused on being friendly and with my lack of ability, I'm sure we'll both be Hufflepuffs. So we can be friends too."

Not knowing what else to say Harper took some of the treats he'd bought earlier out of his pockets. "Chocolate Frogs anyone? I've got Bertie Botts, too. "

They started sharing treats. Hermione dominated the conversation, but before long she was cut off by a loud voice echoing throughout the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

The train slowed down and Hagrid called for the first years leading them to the boats and across the lake to Hogwarts. It was four to a boat and after Harper, Neville and Hermione were seated another first year joined them. This one had bright red hair and could only be Ron Weasley."

"Are you him? They've been saying all up and down the train that Harry Potter was onboard."

Harper nodded. "Yes, I'm him."

"Blimey."

"And you are?" Harper knew very well it was Ron Weasley, but he waited for Ron to introduce himself first. Then he did the introduction thing again and introduced Ron to everyone in the boat and vice versa. The castle was starting to come in sight and even though she'd been to Hogwarts before, Harper couldn't help but be impressed at how the castle looked approaching it over the lake at night. She completely understood why they brought in first years this way.

"So do you have the scar?" asked Ron.

Harper felt slightly irritated at Ron. He was one of the trio: Harry, Ron and Hermione. She should be trying to befriend him. However, she hadn't really like Ron from the books and she was trying to savor this moment: the first boat ride to Hogwarts. She didn't want to chatter, but… future best mate and all. "Yes, I've got the scare, but I don't remember it or anything. I was only one year old you know."

Fortunately, Ron hushed after that and before long they were arriving at the dock. As he was getting out, they were met by Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. "There you are Potter. I thought you were coming back. Did you get lost with Granger and Longbottom?"

"It did take a while to find Neville's toad." Harper wondered if she should do introductions but everyone was following Hagrid up the steps to the Great Hall.

"You want to be careful with that one," warned Ron. "He's a Malfoy. They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they've been bewitched. If you can believe that."

"I don't need to ask who you are," sneered Malfoy in return. "My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Harper was fed up with both of them. "Stop it, both of you! You're like little third grade girls playing the clique game for the first time. You can't be friends with Suzy if you're friends with me. Grow up already."

Both Malfoy and Ron looked shocked, but Hagrid's voice overpowered any reply. "Pipe down." Hagrid raised his gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

* * *

**A/N**: Up next the sorting. Last chance to make your guesses. Also my profile is finally not blank. See my profile for more author commentary on the story.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Sorting

**The Sorting**

Harper waited nervously as the events of the book played out: McGonagall met them and gave her welcome speech. The ghosts made their entrance and flew on past. They were admitted to the Great Hall and Hermione whispered about the enchanted ceiling. Harper had seen it before, but it looked more impressive lit up with all the floating candles and all the other students and professors seated. McGonagall brought out the sorting hat and it sang it's little song. Harper couldn't help but fret. She was brave. Everyone told her how brave she was as lay dying in the hospital. Hadn't she destroyed a Horcrux and faced a basilisk? In Gryffindor she would find friends, but what did all the changes mean? Why had it been Malfoy that sought her out and not Ron.

The hat finished its song and everyone applauded. McGonagall started calling out names. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled nervously out of line. Harper watched. She should be memorizing her classmates, putting names and houses to faces.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The Hufflepuff table broke into cheers as Hannah joined them. Then they cheered again as Susan Bones became a Hufflepuff. Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst went to Ravenclaw. Lavender Brown became the first Gryffindor and Millicent Bulstrode the first Slytherin. Name after name went by.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione ran to the stool. Harper held her breath as Hermione jammed the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

Was that good or bad? Harper had tried to nudge Hermione to Ravenclaw, but she was in Gryffindor again. Neville Longbottom joined her, which didn't surprise Harper at all. Malfoy to Slytherin. Moon, Nott, Parkinson, Padma and Pavarti Patil, Perks…

"Potter, Harry!"

Harper started forward to the hat that would decide the next seven years of her life as whispers broke out all over the hall. She ignored them and jammed the hat down over her head. "Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin."

"Well, well, well, not quite who we claim to be are we... Harper Potts?"

"What?!" She'd been so worried about which house she'd be sorted into she'd totally forgotten the Sorting Hat's ability to read her mind. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I never will. It's just between us, but you're not the first recycled soul. Very few remember their past lives or start in the middle, but that won't get you sorted. So what to do with you?"

"Not Slytherin." The comments about being a recycled soul were astonishing, but she couldn't follow-up on it now.

"So I heard, but you're so very much suited for Slytherin house and not well suited for Gryffindor."

Harper was shocked. "I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor?"

"You're brave enough, but it isn't your strength or your greatest need. Just like you have a strong mind, but you're not a Ravenclaw. No, it's Slytherin or Hufflepuff for you. Hard work and ambition, cunning and loyalty, all of those you have in abundance. You have great ambitions. Slytherin will help you achieve those ambitions. So why not Slytherin?"

"I can't stand Snape…" Yes, that was a big reason. "… and just talking to Malfoy, playing the game, made me feel dirty."

"In Hufflepuff, you'll have true friendship. They'll help you to live. How important are your ambitions? Ah, yes, what a good turn of phrase you have in your head. How bad do you want it?"

Friendship, real friendship versus not saving kids with cancer. "I want both. Can't I have both? It's your job to sort me. Just sort me already!"

"If this what you wish, then… SLYTHERIN!"

Harper pulled the hat off her head feeling betrayed. No one was clapping and cheering. There had been cheers for everyone else. She sat the hat down on the stool and started toward the Slytherin table. One lonely person clapped loudly once, then again… Harper looked to the Slytherin table and saw it was Malfoy of all people starting a slow clap that grew into thunderous applause from the Slytherins only. Harper forced a smile on her face and nodded to Malfoy. She actually found herself grateful to Malfoy. Although thankfully she didn't have sit by him. He was already surrounded. Crabbe and Goyle flanked him and Nott sat across from him.

The Slytherin first years had segregated themselves into boys and girls. Harper chose a seat that filled the gap putting Crabbe to her left and Tracey Davis to her right. "Hello." Formal introductions did not seem to be in order. Tracey Davis leaned into Daphne Greenglass and giggled.

"Looks like you picked sides after all, Potter. Welcome to the mean green." Crabbe's greater size made it sound like a threat rather than welcome.

"Sides were picked for me." She wasn't intimidated by Crabbe. Sure he was bigger than her, but he was still only eleven. She had a hard time taking his threats seriously. It was like he was trying to live up to an image but he was just a kid. Steven and Poppy hadn't really treated her like a little kid, nor had Octavia, but here she was with the first years.

McGonagall continued her role call and the students sorted themselves into their houses. Zabini, Blaise was the last and joined Slytherin.

Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome. Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Ninny! Bubble! Oddfellow! Twitter! Thank you."

He sat back down and everyone clapped and cheers. At the Slytherin table the cheers sounded a bit derisive and Harper heard Malfoy complaining again about how Dumbledore was the worst Headmaster ever.

The food had arrived so Harper started eating. She was grateful for a few months under Poppy's tutelage. Crabe and Goyle stuffed their faces, but the rest of the Slytherin first-years were very neat. As always the food was excellent and there was plenty of anything. It was traditional English cuisine: boiled potatoes, roast beef, roast potatoes, roast chicken, fries, pork, lamb, sausages, bacon, peas, carrots, gravy and more. Harper wondered about the wizarding diet as she was about the only one to voluntarily eat her vegetables. Harper ate in silence while trying to ignore the Bloody Baron hanging over the table. Malfoy bragged and the girls mostly giggled among themselves.

"So, what's with the hair?" asked the girl beside him. "Do you mean for it to look like you just got off a broom?"

Harper turned in surprise and studied Tracey Davis. He remembered nothing about her from the books save that her name sounded familiar. She had long brown straight hair held back in a simple headband. Her doe-brown eyes held a glint of mischief rather than malice. "Well… yes. It doesn't matter how often I comb it down it pops back up. I had it all cut off once and grew back by morning. Apparently it's some bit of personal magic. I tried spiking it, but that didn't work either. So about all I can do with it is add a little gel and try to add a little volume and get that windswept look."

"I like it!" declared Pansy Parkinson joining the conversation. "It does look like you just got off a broom, but in a good way. So do you fly much? I bet you play Quidditch."

"Not so much. I've been on a broom once and it was a disaster. Hit every tree in the forest and fell into the lake. I had to walk home and explain."

"What?" asked Tracey. "Do you mean Harry Potter isn't good at everything? Let me get my quill I'll need to send that into the Daily Prophet."

Pansy seemed offended for him. Daphne Greenglass looked like she had a corncob up her ass. She sat there all prim and proper ignoring everything. Harper laughed. She might just be able to be friends with Tracey. "That's hardly enough for a Daily Prophet story. You'll have to invent some more juicy details before they even think of printing it."

Apparently the ice was now broken and conversation began to flow, mostly curious questions from Pansy and Tracey. Pansy hung on every word and was either flirting or the first member of the Harry Potter fan club. Harper found it more than a little disturbing. She didn't like girls romantically, especially not eleven year-old girls. Tracey seemed to be closer tin spirit o the Weasley twins, a jokester, but a bit more cutting than they were. Harper did find out that Pansy's father was an Obliviator while Tracey's father apparently specialized in mirror enchantments.

"So what do your mothers do?"

"My mum stays home and minds the manor, of course." Pansy declared smugly. "What does you mother do, Tracey? Oh wait, I know. She helps your father tend his shop. Pity your father needs help from his wife simply to run his business."

"My mum likes helping my father. She doesn't sit around a house all day eating bon-bons and ordering about the house elves."

"At least my family has house elves, Davis."

Harper wanted to try out _Incendio_ on a hat. This was the house that was supposed to help her achieve political power and defeat Voldemort? She glanced away scanning the the high table. Poppy watching sadly. Harper missed her and Steven already. Snape was scowling in her direction and Quirrell was staring as well. Suddenly she felt a hot sharp pain lance through the scar on her forehead. She winced at the pain and hurriedly tried to blank her mind using her meditation practice.

After dessert Dumbledore rose again and gave the expected speech. Stay out of the Forbidden Forrest. No magic in the hallways and avoid the third-floor corridor on the right hand side unless you want to experience a painful death. Harper wondered if the stone was already there or not. Then Dumbledore had them sing the Hogwarts song and it was off to bed, or rather down to the dungeons.

The Slytherin prefect who led them to the Slytherin common room was Gemma Farley. The common room was long and low and dark. Torches lit the edges and fire burned in the fireplace, but it still felt cold. Windows looked out on darkness. Gemma reminded Harper of a cheerleader: blond, perky and excessively cheerful. However, Harper was pleased at the way she attacked the myths of everyone in Slytherin being dark or from a completely pureblood house. She admitted that most families had some muggle blood in them. Draco scoffed loudly at that one. Gemma explained how their house was actually under the lake and the might see giant squid or merfolk sometimes. She spent some time tearing down the other houses and talking about Slytherin's greatness. She talked about the snakes staying together, but from what Harper was seeing her fellow first-years were already looking at how to cut each other up.

After the rah-rah talk they went down to their dormitories. Despite being in a male body for months Harper almost went down to the girl's dormitory, but she caught what she was doing and changed course. She ended up in a room hung with tapestries with ancient four-poster beds with green silk hangings. She wasn't particularly happy to bedding down with a group of boys, especially when those boys consisted of: Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Zabini.

She checked to make sure that all her possessions had arrived safely, then she pulled the curtains around her bed and tried to get some sleep. She would bunk down with the five snakes for nine months out of twelve for the next seven years. Why had the damn hat decided that was a good idea?


	16. Chapter 16 - First Steps

**First Steps**

Harper set her wind-up alarm clock early so she would have time go jogging. She'd kept up the habit because it made her feel alive. She had a hard time getting to sleep and didn't wake up easily. In addition to the ringing of the bell she heard loud complaints from her roommates. She slapped the alarm and tumbled out of bed.

Malfoy poked his head out from the curtain surrounding his bed. "Circe's tits, Potter! What's that ringing?"

"Sorry. I'll figure something else out for tomorrow." She was already pulling out her muggle clothes and trainers and getting dressed. She beat a hasty retreat to the common room which was fortunately empty. There were a few other early risers in the hallways which looked at her in astonishment, but she ignored them.

She was beginning to wonder if she'd made a big mistake. What she was doing was not illegal. She'd read the code of conduct. However, maybe it would have been a good idea to have worn a robe over her muggle clothing until she was at the trail around the lake. She pushed it out of her mind when she got to the lake. She stretched out as best she could. One of the items on her to-do list was to get a muggle exercise book. She was probably stretching wrong. That wasn't anywhere near the top of her list though. Also a better thigh sheath for her wand to use while jogging.

All those thoughts left her as she started to run. The air was cool, the sun was coming up and she felt alive. For just a little while she could just be. While it wasn't in either of the two books on Occulmency that she'd read, she had found that the meditation principles described worked just as well jogging as they did sitting in place. Perhaps even better. She could focus on her breathing, let her mind zone out, and just experience the thrill of being alive. She currently managed only a single lap and was pretty pleased with herself although she had no idea how far it was around the lake. It was a pretty big lake. She was hoping to get up to two laps someday, but her first morning with classes wasn't a good day to push things.

She attracted attention again as she was heading back into the castle. More people were up and about even though it wasn't even time for breakfast yet. Stares and whispers about "Potter," "Dressed like a muggle," and "Out of uniform," followed her. She'd known what she was doing was unusual, but given the amount of weirdness in the wizarding world she didn't really think that going for a morning run warranted this much attention. She decided that it was because she was Harry Potter and next time she'd definitely wear a robe over her jogging clothes.

She was not at all expecting the uproar that happened when she entered the Slytherin common room. While she had been noticed on the way in, the half-dozen Slytherin's in the common room all stared as she entered. Unfortunately one of the half-dozen was Gemma Farley. The Slytherin prefect no longer looked like a perky cheerleader. Instead she had the disdainful look that Harper was all too familiar with from her past days at school. "Potter! What are you doing? Oh, you stink! Did you roll in dragon dung?"

Harper rolled her eyes. "I went for a jog around the lake. It's called sweat. I'm heading for the showers now."

"A jog? Around the lake? Potter, you're in Slytherin now. You need to keep up the standards of our house. Walking around the halls sweating like some muggle laborer is not in keeping with the dignity of Slytherin. I'm not going to deduct points, but this is your one warning. I don't want this happening again."

"You're joking! I'm not allowed to go jogging. Miss Farley, I appreciate that you are a prefect, but I'm not breaking any school rules. I looked it up. Students have to be in uniform, at meals and assemblies, but outside of those times relaxed dress is allowed. I like exercising and plan to continue."

Gemma rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Nobody is forbidding you from jogging, Potter. You wouldn't catch me out there doing it, but if you want to sweat and stink like a muggle that's your business outside on the grounds. However, when you walk through the hallways looking like a disgrace it reflects badly on Slytherin. Take your kit and use the facilities at the Quidditch pitch. That's what they're for. Do your muggle exercises rituals outside. Then shower and clean off before come back inside."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know there were changing rooms at the Quidditch pitch." That was something that Octavia might have mentioned. She mentioned all sorts of trivia but not important details like that. Then again, it probably hadn't seemed important to Octavia.

"Apology accepted, Potter. I'll cut you some slack because it is the first day, but you'd best remember that I'm a Prefect. Disrespect my position again and I'll dock you house points. You don't want to be on the board of shame do you?"

Harper glanced to the board posted in the common room. Right now it was blank, but it listed by name who had won and lost house points and why. While Harper didn't care that much about points, she did grasp that peer pressure for losing Slytherin points would be intense. "No, Miss Farley, I don't want to be on the board of shame."

Harper headed for the showers and wasn't happy by what she found there. More boys were awake now and they were in varying states of undress. The showers were mostly private. There were individual stalls with curtains, but some of the boys had no shame about walking around starkers in the common area. She had managed to mostly ignore her own boy bits for the past few months, and she had no desire at all to see what was on display. She kept her eyes averted, showered quickly and changed faster.

Back in her room at her assigned bed she found that someone had smashed her clock. The list of suspects was small: Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott or Zabini. She tried _Reparo_ on it, which fixed the outer casing, but the mending charm didn't fix the inner workings. Blaise Zabini was the only one currently in the room. The skinny dark-skinned boy was watching her intently. She had no way of knowing if he'd participated in the destruction or was merely waiting to see what she would do about it. She met his gaze and he didn't say a word.

"I'm not going to ask who broke it. I will ask how I am supposed to wake up on time without a clock."

Blaise gave a little nod. "So you were muggle raised, then Potter?"

She saw no point in denying it. "I was. What gave it away?"

"The clothes, going out and getting sweaty, the clock, the gramophone, the little printing press machine… and a certain something off about you. You were coached well, but you aren't relaxed enough about things. It isn't habit. Plus, you didn't know how to set the alarm enchantment on your bed."

Harper shrugged. She felt she was being tested. Zabini was only eleven and already playing the game. Even worse, he played it better than she did. "Would you show me how to set the alarm enchantment?"

"Perhaps. Malfoy is already moving to consolidate his position as leader of the first years. Where do you think of that?"

"He's moving too soon. First years have no true power. Our position will be based on what friends we make in the upper classmen…" No, not entirely. "And that of our parents and houses. He is still Lucius Malfoy's son, but…" She was still surprised that Draco was trying to crown himself prince of Slytherin house already.

Nott continued to watch her with that steady gaze. "So what do you intend to do about it? He already has Crabbe and Goyle lined up and is working on Nott."

If this was a test was she failing it. "I plan on spending my time forming alliances and won't necessarily be limiting myself to Slytherin House. I'm not going to be one of Malfoy's cronies. Despitewho his father is, but I'm a special case. What do you intend to do?"

Zabini smiled. "It is easier to stay independent if there are other independent minded people around to keep the overachievers from throwing around their weight, don't you think?"

Welcome to Slytherin. Do you want to be my friend? Don't worry that dagger in the back won't hurt a bit. This wasn't independence. It was an anti-Malfoy alliance, but nevertheless she wanted in. "I like the sound of that. No one telling me who I can and can't be friends with. A little understand that friends of friends should be given respect. Two independent minded people would have more freedom than one."

"Three would have more. Are you hungry? We should talk to Nott."

Nott's father was a Death Eater, but at least he wasn't Malfoy. "I am hungry. We should eat, but how do I set the alarm enchantment on the bed… Blaise?"

Blaise's eyes widened a bit. "Turn the bedknob on the headboard… Harry. There are numbers on it. You set the time there. At the specified time the bed will hit anyone laying in it with a mild reenervate spell."

Harper nodded. She wasn't entirely sure what she'd committed herself to doing, but if it helped contain Malfoy it had to be a good thing. Didn't it?


	17. Chapter 17 - Alliances

**Alliances**

They weren't able to talk with Nott at lunch, because Malfoy was there first talking to him. Blaise didn't seem too worried. He thought Nott could be persuaded to become an independent individual. So instead they sat near the girls. He was starting to get them figured out now. Pansy was a fan girl. Tracey used a combination of sarcasm and humor to let people close but not too close. Greenglass was already an ice queen at age eleven, or perhaps that should be ice princess. Milicent Bulstrode was terminally shy despite her size. Unlike the boys there didn't appear to be a power struggle going on yet among the girls. Harper wasn't sure if the girls were getting along or simply better at hiding things.

As they were finishing breakfast Poppy showed up. She didn't have her formerly motherly manner about her. "Potter, I hope you are finished. I need to see you a few minutes about some record keeping details. Would you come with me?"

Harper felt kicked in the gut. This is where the Pomfrey's turned her over to Snape. She sealed it away and didn't let it show. "Yes, Madame Pomfrey. I'm free now." Harper turned to the other first years. "Blaise, ladies, I'll see you in class."

Poppy led her to the hospital wing. She made sure the door was shut before her manner relaxed from professional to show a good bit of worry. "Harry, dear. I know we talked about how after the sorting the head of your house would take guardianship over you. When the Headmaster came up with that plan he didn't realize how much you'd become part of my life and Steven's. Professor Snape is very good at being head of Slytherin House and he is a Potions Master, but he has never had children of his own, not like Steven and I. We were wondering if perhaps you would want us to stay your guardians?"

"Oh, yes please!" She threw herself into Poppy's arms and hugged her. It was all she could do to hold back tears of relief. Having Snape as her guardian was her worse nightmare. "Thank you. Thank you."

Poppy hugged her back tightly. "Good. The Headmaster thinks it can be arranged, but there are some papers you'll need to sign."

"Just show me where to sign." She'd been expecting some forms, but Poppy brought out a letter. She skimmed it before signing and it was a bit surprising. It was a letter stating she wanted to stay with the Pomfrey's, which she did, but someone else had written it out for her. Why did she have the feeling that the someone was Albus Dumbledore. However, she wasn't about to question it. She much rather have the Pomfrey's as her guardian. So she signed. "Does that do it?"

"Not yet, but since it is you asking, Harry, I'm sure the Ministry will follow your requests under the circumstances. I'll let you know as soon as I do. So how are you holding up in Slytherin?"

Harper didn't say she wanted to scream and pull her hair out. "Okay. There is already a power struggle going on for dominance among the first years. Malfoy has toadies and his father's fame… I guess I probably shouldn't say all this, but I find it frustrating.

"That's Slytherin for you Harry. I'm sure the Sorting Hat must have put you there for some reason, but you're such a caring child. I really don't understand why. If it gets to be too much, remember that you always have a place with me and Steven. You can even stay the night with us if you like."

"I'll remember that." She certainly would. Although she also wondered about sudden change of plans. Why had it been after the sorting that suddenly the Pomfreys were deemed fit guardians? Would this have happened if he'd been sorted into Gryffindor? Could it be that despite all the evidence in the books that Dumbledore didn't trust Snape?

In many ways her first week of school proved to be easy. Thanks to Octavia's guided tours, she already knew her way around and didn't have any trouble dealing with the moving stairs or other peculiarities of the castle. Charms and Transfiguration were a breeze due to her having read and practiced ahead. She noticed that most of her fellow Slytherins also had few difficulties with the initial lessons. Obviously she wasn't the only one that had lessons before the start of term. Herbology and Astronomy were new, but not difficult. History of Magic was if possible even more boring than it was made out to be in the books. However, Octavia came through there. Her weird Ravenclaw friend had offered her the notes to all Binns lectures and tests which apparently didn't change from year to year. Apparently all the Ravenclaw used the study notes. Since her classes were easy, she had time to work on alliance building, starting with Theodore Nott.

Nott jumped at a chance to join a circle of 'independently minded people'. "Count me in. I particularly like the part about laying off on friends, even those outside of Slytherin. In particular Susan Bones is off limits." The scrawny boy wasn't as composed as Blaise. In fact he trembled a bit, but he spoke like he understood exactly what was going on.

"Staking your claim early, aren't you?" asked Blaise.

"We're not betrothed or anything, but I want to keep that door open. I'm afraid that certain… narrow minded people could make that difficult." His smile looked forced. He wasn't as calm or as good at hiding his feelings as Blaise.

Malfoy had mentioned Susan Bones as one to watch. Harper felt a little bit of nervousness at knowing the son of a Death Eater was targeting the girl, but he had to play the game to secure his own. "Good luck to you. I'm cultivating Granger and Longbottom."

Blaise smiled enigmatically. "When the time comes, I'll let you two know. I'm planning to cast a wide net."

Nott glanced about nervously. "Just to be clear. This includes mutual defense if it comes to that."

"Of course," agreed Harper.

"However, if either of you jump into something on your own, don't expect me to follow you into folly." Blaise said it with his usual unreadable expression. "And Theodore, don't make the pact too obvious. We all make nice with Malfoy. He can brag all he wants. It's only when he tries act in ways against our own interests that we make it clear we won't be bullied."

"I get it, Blaise, and I prefer Theo. So what about the girls? Are we going to invite them in or not?"

Harper looked to Blaise who just smiled and said nothing. So the ball was in her court. "I don't know. Parkinson is fawning all over me, but I think she's trying to stake her claim to me. I'm not interested in being claimed by her… I'm not sure what to do about her. If I shut her down, I'm pretty sure she'll cozy up to Malfoy."

"Astute," said Blaise. "My advice, feed her a crumb now and then but don't get too close. The key is Davis. She's friends with Greenglass. If you swing Davis, then Greenglass will join up. Bulstrode and Pansy are followers. It's got to be you that approaches her, Potter. Better do it soon."

Harper nodded. Apparently with purebloods it was all about reputation and she had the only reputation that rivaled Malfoy's. "I'll look for an opportunity."

An opportunity to speak with Davis privately proved hard to come by. The Slytherin first year girls went everywhere together even to the loo. It was like they were a small herd. Pansy Parkinson and Tracey Davis looked like the ring leaders with the other two following, but there was simply no opportunity to speak to Davis privately. Harper found it easier to approach Hermione as she was studying alone in the library.

Harper carefully looked about. There were plenty of students present, but no one seemed to be particularly watching, so it looked like a good time to make a move. She felt surprisingly nervous as she sat down next to the bushy-haired Gryffindor. "Hello, Hermione."

"Hello, Harry. I'm studying." She darted him a glance but didn't look up from her book.

Harper felt her heart sink. "I can see you're studying. Do you want me to go? Can we not be friends now that you're in Gryffindor?"

Hermione turned from her book with an unhappy sigh. "I don't know. It all sounded so very exciting on the Hogwarts Express, but we don't have classes together except Potions. We don't share a common room, nor do we eat together. I haven't seen you in days, plus I've been told things about Slytherins, and from what I can see they're true."

That wasn't what she expected to hear from Hermione. "I see. I've heard things about muggle borns, but I don't believe they're all true. Very well, Miss Granger. I made a promise and I tried to keep it, but I won't hold you to it if you want to be released. Good luck to you in Gryffindor." She tried to keep her tone neutral, but this was a big gamble on the fact that Hermione was true to her word.

"Wait… I'm sorry, Harry. You've been nothing but nice to me. We could study together, sometimes."

Harper sighed in relief. "I'd like that. I wouldn't mind if Neville joined either. How are you coming along in Herbology? Oh, and do you have the study notes for History of Magic?"

"Study notes? Professor Binns didn't say anything about study notes." She was practically bouncing in her seat with eagerness.

To Harper's surprise Tracey Davis and Daphne Greenglass sought him out early Thursday morning. They were both waiting outside the Quidditch pitch as she returned to the castle after her morning jog. "Good morning, ladies."

"Good morning, Potter." Davis gave a slight curtsey.

Greenglass gave a minimal curtsey barely bobbing in place. "Good morning, Potter."

Harper gave a little bow in return wondering why they were suddenly on formal manners when they'd been mostly informal until now. "So is this a social call, or did you have something in mind?"

"We were just out for a morning walk." Davis waved her hand as if brushing away the question as trivial. "We may have hoped to observe your 'strange muggle ritual', but it appears we were too late."

"You mean jogging? I like running around the lake in the mornings. You should try it sometime." Harper hoped she didn't take that as flirting.

Tracey shook her head. "I sure that I'm not interested, but you could escort us back to the castle."

Harper wasn't sure if Davis was flirting or not. It felt wrong to her for an eleven year-old to be flirting, but maybe she was reading too much into it. Besides, she didn't have much choice. Having been suggested that he take her for a walk it would be rude to refuse. Although since they weren't dating or betrothed he shouldn't offer his arm. "It would be my pleasure."

They started walking. The blond-haired ice princess kept silent and aloof. Davis was more animated, smiling and looking about. "So we've noticed certain… developments among our fellow first years. Malfoy isn't pleased. He is pressing Pansy to align with him and since you're rebuffing her she might."

As far as Harper was concerned, Malfoy could have Pansy, but why give him another follower? "I'll endeavor to be a little more polite to Miss Parkinson." It wouldn't take much. All Pansy saw was Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived.

Davis shrugged. "Daphne and I were wondering as to your intentions, Potter. You've seemed to be… observing us a good bit, but haven't approached."

Telling her that she was never alone probably wouldn't be good. "I wanted a more discrete conversation. As for what I wanted, not much. I just wanted to talk, make acquaintences, maybe even friends. It would be inappropriate if we had to we had to make decisions right off the bat without having a chance to learn the character of our classmates, don't you think?"

Davis moved her hand to her face covering a giggle. "Oh, I must agree, Mr. Potter. It would be downright rude to expect us to attach ourselves at this point like some vassals swearing allegiance to a lord. Especially for us girls. Many of us will be… encouraged into advantageous marriages. Can you imagine how awful it would be if we formed attachments, but found that our family had other plans for our future?"

Harper felt herself burning inside. "I thought arranged marriages were a thing of the past."

Tracey eyes flitted to Greenglass, before she laughed. "Of course they are. Families can no more than encourage a prospective match. You're can't force someone into a magical contract against their will."

"So I've been told." Although families could still pressure their children into signing. This was one part of pureblood customs that Harper did not approve of. Poppy said that arrangements these days were more of an introductions and encouragement. If the children didn't like each other marriages weren't forced. Harper wasn't sure what the reality of the arrangements were. Tracey was implying a lot less choice on the side of a pureblood witch than Poppy had. Harper pushed down her feelings. There was nothing to do about it now. "So… back to the topic at hand. I would think for you girls that it would be more important for you to be able to make many acquaintances."

"True, true. Us new Slytherin girls have agreed to help and to chaperone each other, as much as we can. I'm glad to hear you are in favor of keeping options open."

Harper nodded as she tried to work that out. If she got it right, it meant that the girls had formed their own alliance, apparently with Tracey as the spokesperson. She wasn't so much joining with Harper's anti-Malfoy alliance, as agreeing to work alongside. "Good. I think we understand each other. I'm glad to hear of the solidarity you girls share. I'm afraid that us boys are more divided."

Tracey giggled. "You don't say. That's such a shame."

"I'm sure my friends would also approve that you girls are standing together. Although there is one point that concerns me. I've noticed some Slytherins have been unseemly assertive with some of the other houses. While I can't constrain the actions of others, I find it hard to cultivate contacts when others are being so abrasive."

"Some do have all the self-control of a niffler scenting metal. Personally I think it's rather crude to resort to base taunts and insults. I prefer a more subtle approach, but I am a proper snake. Step on me and I bite back."

This was better than Harper hoped. "I like your attitude, Miss Davis."

Tracey smiled as the approached the steps leading into the castle. "Likewise, I'm sure, Potter, I think this was quite a lovely walk. We should do this again sometime."

"It was my pleasure, Miss Davis, Miss Greenglass."

They traded bows and curtseys and she thought meeting was done, but the blonde ice princess got final word. "Thank you, Mr. Potter for a lovely walk. If we ever want to find you alone, we'll know when and where to find you."

As the two baby snakes walked away, Harper wondered if Daphne's parting comment had been friendly advice on the dangers of jogging alone every morning or a threat. Probably it had been both.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you're enjoying the alliance forming of the baby snakes. They're all trying so very hard to copy the behavior of their parents, but they have different levels of skill in actually doing it. Hopefully that's reflected in how I've portrayed the characters.


	18. Chapter 18 - Potions

**Potions**

Harper was nervous heading into her first potions lesson on Friday morning. This would be her first class with the Gryffindors. She was hoping for an opportunity to talk with Neville and Hermione. However, it would be her first real contact with Snape. She'd met him over the summer at evening meals, but the greasy-haired git had mostly ignored her. Since joining Slytherin House he hadn't even spoken to her. Now she was going to be subjected to his potions lessons. She was certain she wasn't prepared enough. She'd read about potions, but unlike her other subjects she hadn't been able to prepare ahead. So she had no practical knowledge. She was certain her pureblooded classmates had practice. After all, there was no trace on a cauldron.

She'd prepared as best as she could and was certain she was better prepared than the Gryffindors. The Slytherin common room included a small library of books. Among those books were 'notes' on potions. In actuality the 'notes' were supplementary instructions for getting superior potion results, much like the notes Snape had written in the book Harry had in Half-Blood Prince. Harper was pretty much convinced they were exactly the same notes and this was Snape's way of providing superior instructions to Slytherins only. It really pissed her off that Snape would take the house rivalries so seriously that he actually provided a lower quality of education to non-Slytherins. She also wondered how he kept it secret and what would be the consequences for tattling on him.

Harper arrived early with Theo Nott. Against all expectations she was starting to warm to Theo. She hadn't expected to really make friends with any of the Slytherin's, but after joining their anti-Malfoy alliance Theo had opened up. He had a sardonic wit and liked poking fun at everyone quietly behind their backs. While his barbs were sometimes cruel, they were also wickedly accurate as he poked fun of the staff and fellow students from all houses. Theo was aces at astronomy and believed completely in astrology. According to Theo everything was written in the stars if you knew how to read them. Harper was skeptical, but given the comments made by centaurs in the books, she wasn't sure that Theo's faith in astrology was entirely misplaced.

Harper had her cauldron and supplies out and arranged before any Gryffindor arrived. Not surprisingly Hermione was one the first Gryffindor to arrive and she headed straight to the front of the room. Harper gave her equipment one last check and walked over to join her. "Hey, how have your lessons been going?"

"Good, I'm going to catch up with you before you know it."

Harper smiled. Hermione had been shocked to find out how far she was behind the pureblood students, most of who had arrived with some experience in magic already. "I'm sure you will. We'll be pretty equal in this class. I know that I don't have any hands-on experience in potions."

The red-headed Ronald Weasley entered and headed straight for Harry. "What are you doing on the Griffindor side of the room, Potter?"

Harper hid her shock. She knew that Ron didn't like Slytherins, but she had expected him to act better than a red-headed Malfoy. While it was true that the room was divided by a main aisle and all the Slytherins were on one side, there was no rule about where to sit. "I'm just talking to Hermione." She looked to Herminone. "Was I bothering you?"

Hermione shook her head to indicate no, but she didn't say anything and she seemed to wilt. Obviously she wasn't comfortable being in the middle. Harper didn't like backing down to Ronald Weasley, but she had a pretty good idea how Snape would be for his first lecture. Getting caught arguing with Ron would not be a good start. "Alright then, Hermione. Some other time." She turned to Ron. "Later, Weasley."

As she walked away she heard Ron muttering. "Yeah, run away snake."

She pretended not to hear as she took her seat by Ron. What had she done to make Ron so bitter? Worse, if she wanted to be respected in Slytherin or pureblood society, then she couldn't just let him call her a coward. She hated all the macho posturing. It was so childish and male. "He's such an idiot. He's like a dog hiking his leg and peeing all over the place to mark his territory." She whispered to Nott.

Nott laughed. "He's a ginger, what do you expect? Quick temper and doesn't know how to back down. I suggest being careful around him, though."

"Why?" Harper had no idea why she should be careful around Ron Weasley.

"Because his two older brothers are the kings of mischief at Hogwarts. Anyone who touches their darling little brother will be pranked good. Besides, Mars is ascending."

Whatever that meant. Harper watched as the rest of the Gryffindors filed in. Ron walked off and pointedly didn't sit next to Hermione. In fact no one joined Hermione on the first row or even spoke to her. At first Harper thought Ron had chosen to sit alone rather than with Hermione, but at the last minute Neville ran in and sat down next to Ron. Harper wondered what had happened. Hadn't Neville and Hermione promised to be friends on the train? Maybe it wasn't malicious. Maybe Neville was simply at the age where girls still had cooties. However, Harper couldn't help but feel sad for Hermione sitting by herself. Although Blaise probably wasn't very happy to be sitting with Goyle either.

Snape started calling roll. He paused significantly at Harry's name. "Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — _celebrity_."

For one brief moment she fantasized of telling him that actually her name was Harper Potts, but it was so not worth it. "Present, sir."

Snape finished roll call and glared out at the class. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making…"

Harper put on her pleasant smile. He was giving that speech. She listened as Snape whispered on anticipating his words. He actually was a good orator when he put his mind to it. He had the class hanging on his every word.

"… if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," he concluded. He paused significantly before snapping suddenly, "Potter! What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harper knew the answer was the Draught of Living Death from reading the Harry Potter books, but not from reading ahead for potions. It wasn't a first year potion, but the properties of both asphodel and wormwood were listed in _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. So she decided to run with that. "I would guess a sleeping potion of some sort."

"Never guess in potions, Potter! Add the wrong ingredient, make one mistake and you can end up with deadly poison."

She gave him the eye-roll before she realized it, because he was being an idiot. What was the point of having a book on the properties of magical herbs if she just had to follow instructions.

"Now that you've possible poisoned yourself where would you look for a bezoar and what is it?"

"A bezoar is a stone from the stomach of a goat. Powdered bezoar is used in many antidotes and in an emergency a whole bezoar is a cure for most magical posions. I'd look for one in the emergency cabinet located on the wall to the right. If I was poisoned I certainly don't have the knowledge or experience to formulate a proper antidote or track down a goat and open its stomach."

There was a mild chuckle of laughter from the class, but that only seemed to infuriate Snape. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They're different names for the same plant, which properly prepared is the main ingredient of several deadly poisons as well as the Wolfsbane Potion that allows werewolves to control their curse during a full moon."

"Correct. Five points for Slythrerin for being prepared." Snape suddenly whirled upon Hermione who had been bouncing in her seat with her hand raised to the fullest. "And one point from Gryffindor for lack of decorum appropriate to a witch, Miss Granger. Raising your hand is sufficient. Don't wave it around like you're trying to flag down the Knight Bus. As for the rest of you, why aren't you writing all this down?!"

There was a scramble for quills as everyone rushed to write down what had just been said. Harper counted herself as having come out on top of that exchanged, but from the glares Snape was giving her, maybe it would have better to have gone along with the books and gotten the answers wrong. Snape lectured for a bit longer and then set them to work brewing a 'simple' potion to cure boils. However, only in the class notes from the Slytherin books was it listed that the most important part of this potion was the temperature. Adding the wrong component when the potion was hot could have dangerous consequences. Harper was pretty sure that Neville would discover this soon, but she wasn't sure how to stop it.

Snape prowled the classroom. Harper felt like he was giving her extra attention, but was surprised when he suddenly grabbed her calligraphy pens. "Potter, what are you doing using these things instead of quills?"

"Because they are less prone to drips." She offered Snape an insincere smile. "Poppy likes them. She got a whole set for herself. If you like them, sir, I could pick some up the next time I go shopping in London."

Snape gave her a sour look. "I'll stick to quills." He walked away.

Theo leaned in and whispered. "Poppy? I thought your family was dead."

"Not now, Theo. I'll explain later." So maybe dropping Poppy's name into the conversation hadn't been the best way to go, but it had worked. However, now she had an inquisitive Theo to deal with later.

Neville's cauldron picked that time to explode and shower him with a solution. Snape whirled on him and berated him for being an idiot before sending him to the hospital wing. Harper noticed that Malfoy looked particularly pleased at Longbottom's punishment. While Harper had no proof she wondered if Malfoy hadn't added something to Neville's cauldron.

"Sir, I'll be glad to escort Longbottom to the nurse," she volunteered.

Snape whirled back. "Is your potion done, Potter?"

"Almost sir." Maybe a little more than almost, but it was doing fine.

"Never abandon a potion in progress unless you are certain it can be set aside at that point! Can your potion be safely set aside, Potter?"

Crap. "I don't know, sir."

"Find out, Potter. Six inches tomorrow on my desk about when this potion can be safely set aside." Snape whirled. "You, Weasel."

"Weasley, sir. Ron Weasley."

"Escort your partner to the infirmary wing."

Harper turned back stirring her potion. It was going to be a long seven years learning potions under Snape, a very long seven years.


	19. Chapter 19 - Remembrall

**Rememberall**

It soon became clear to Harper that Neville was avoiding her. She most often saw him in the company of Ron Weasley and Ron was quick to insult Slytherins. She still hoped to get past that, but wasn't going to make a scene about it. With Hermione things were at least progressing. They met togather a few times a week in the library. To tell the truth she was still a little in awe of Hermione Granger. She'd loved the Harry Potter stories, but if whatever strange fate had sent her to this world had let her pick her character, she would have chosen Hermione and not Harry. She was just as brilliant as the books portrayed, but sadly stunted socially. She seemed unable to function outside of academics or to evaluate her teachers critically. She wouldn't even listen to criticism of Professor Binns. Although to be fair there was a five year gap in their real ages, and dying of cancer had probably given her a more mature perspective. It was just that she had hoped to be friends with Hermione, but they were just study buddies.

The classmate she actually felt closest to at the moment was Theo Nott. She knew his father was a Death Eater, but she didn't think Theo was yet, nor did he really aspire to be one. For an eleven year-old boy he was pretty mature without doing the eerie silent thing that Blaise did so well. Blaise was more spider than a serpent, quiet, waiting in his web. There was something off inside Theo. Beneath the wit there was something rabbity inside him. He would smirk and whisper about people from a distance, but shirked from Draco. Crabbe and Goyle actually made him tremble. Theo was also shy about talking about his homelife. Harper suspected that his parents had been strict, possibly even abusive. Although there were no visible signs. They lived in close quarters and she'd seen Theo changing clothes. There were no signs of scars. Although she didn't know if it would matter if there were. None of the Slytherins had commented on the numerous scars on her body. Still, Theo was the closest person she had to an actual friend. She was learning a lot from him and felt they were growing closer. As proved by the fact that after a few days of coaxing, Theo now went with her on her morning jogs around the lake. He couldn't keep up yet, and almost gave up the first day, but stuck with it and was getting better.

Strangely enough Slytherin house wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for Malfoy. Overall the Slytherins just acted more mature than the other houses, although there were several exceptions. Draco was a spoiled little daddy's boy. He was clearly frustrated that not everyone was bowing to him, but so far he hadn't done anything more than brag. However, Harper had the feeling that was going to change, because she had her first flying lesson that day and that morning Malfoy had swiped the Remembral that his grandmother had sent to him. McGonagall gave it back, but she couldn't let that slide.

"Theo, Blaise, did you see what Malfoy just did?"

"No, Nott looked around. What did Malformed do this time?"

"He pulled his usual crap on Longbottom. I told him to lay off Longbottom."

Nott took a breath and let it out. "Yeah, you warned off Longbottom. So… we going to have a talk with Malformed and his two hagspawn? We'd better bring in the girls. It could get ugly."

Blaise shook his head. "Harry, let it go. Longbottom wants nothing to do with you and he's a putz. He's not worth making a scene over."

"House Alliances. Whether he honors it not, the Longbottoms are friends of the Potters. I can't let it slide."

"Sure you can, Potter. Alliances change every generation. He brushed you off. You're under no obligation. At least the Granger girl shows promise even if she is a mudblood. Longbottom is a case of too much inbreeding. The line has gone weak."

Harry studied Blaise. This was more than he usually said about anything. "Blaise, it's put up or shut up time. Do you want to be independent or do you want to kiss Malformed's pasty white ass for seven years?"

Nott winced. "Ewe! You did not put that image in my brain. Oblivate me, please!"

"Potter, the girls won't back us up. Not for Longbottom," said Blaise.

Harper got it now. This was what bothered Blaise. "I tell you what. I give him a warning today in Charms. If he backs off Longbottom, I'll let it go. If he does something else, we push back. The girls don't have to get involved. They just have to stay neutral and witness that Malfoy drew first. If I push him hard enough, he'll either draw or Crabbe or Goyle will try something physical. Once he does, we hex them hard."

Theo started doing his nervous shaking thing. "It would have to be in the Slytherin common room."

Harper nodded. "Pretty much." They could probably work other places, but the Slytherin common room would be best.

Blaise sat still a moment. "Alright. If you warn him in front of the girls. If he escalates after that. Then we confront him in the common room, but just so you know, Potter, the Longbottom heir isn't worth it."

"It's my call. I'll go to the wall to protect your independence, too."

So that's how Harper ended up calling out Malfoy in charms before class started while the rest of the first year Slytherin's watched. "Yo, Malfoy. I noticed at breakfast you were messing with Longbottom."

"Yeah, so what?" drawled Malfoy. "He's practically a squib."

"The so what is the part where on the train I warned you off Longbottom and Granger."

"Fine choice of allies, Potter: a squib and a mudblood."

Harper found herself starting to heat up, but a sudden scattering of witnesses announced that Flitwick had just entered. She nodded politely to Flitwick and took a seat by Blaise and Theo. Unless she very much missed her guess at their first flying lesson, Malfoy would taunt Longbottom again by taking his Remembrall and flying off with it. After clearly warning him off, she wouldn't be seen as the instigator. It could work.

Harper paid more attention to Malfoy than to Madame Hooch during their first flying lesson. She managed to get her broom to jump into her hand after only two tries and watched in exasperation as Hermione struggled. Madame Hooch showed them how to mount the broom properly then just as Harper expected, Neville took off early, fell off his broom and broke his wrist. As Hooch took Neville all she had to do was wait for Malfoy to open his big mouth.

It didn't take long for Malfoy to oblige. "Did you see his face, the great lump?"

Crabbe and Goyle joined in as did Pansy. The rest of the Slytherin's were silent.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" asked Pansy. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

Harper had quite enough. "Miss Parkinson, Malfoy, enough. I told you to layoff Longbottom."

Pansy made a little eep sound like she was a squeaky toy. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."

Ron Weasley pushed forward. "Yeah, like we're supposed to believe that, Potty. You're just covering for them. Just a sneakier variety of snake."

Malfoy suddenly darted forward and snatched the Remembrall from where it had fallen in the glass. "I don't take orders from you, Potty. Look what I've got. You want it?" Malfoy leapt onto his broomstick and took off. "You know for all your fame, you're still just a half-blood. You want it come get it."

Harper shook her head. She knew that she couldn't match Malfoy in the air. He'd be getting his later at a time of her choosing. She just had to wait.

She didn't count on Ron jumping in and taking her place. He pushed into the air like a rocket and took off. "Give it here, Malfoy, or I'll knock you off that broom!"

Harper watched in amazement. Ron Wealsey Quidditch star? Did he somehow have the flying talent she lacked? She wasn't a good enough flyer to rate his skill. Ron certainly looked impressive jousting with Malfoy and tossing out quips. It was strange watching him play the role of a hero. Maybe there was more to Ron Weasley than she'd thought. After dodging and taunting Ron for while, Malfoy tossed the Remembrall and Ron dived after it. He caught the ball and tried to pull up, but didn't quite make it.

Harper expected Ron to make a spectacular catch and become Gryffindor's seeker. This seemed to be one of those destined events which would still happen just with the characters changed. Instead Ron missed the Remembrall and didn't pull up in time. He didn't plow the ground, but he came down hard bouncing and tumbling along the ground before ending up in a moaning heap on the ground. Some of the girls screamed, Malfoy laughed and just about everyone rushed over to where Ron had come to rest.

McGonagall appeared running towards them. She fired her wand off into the air sending out bright red flares into the sky. "Get back everyone! Stupid, stupid, boy!" She started casting spells at Ron's body.

Harper hung back with Theo watching and was surprised when Hermione broke off from the crowd and came to her. "Is he going to be alright? He's a bit of a prat, but still, they can fix him can't they?"

Harper wanted to wrap Granger into a hug. If she'd been in her own body that's what she would have done, but boys didn't hug girls at this age. "He'll be alright. They'll take him to Poppy. They call her the school nurse, but that's just a title. She's a very experienced mediwitch. He's still moaning. As long as he is alive they can fix just about anything." Even cancer. He spotted a witch diving in on a broom and could tell it was Madame Pomfrey even before she landed.

Poppy took charge like a paramedic waving her wand, casting a few spells and then dosing Ron with a potion before floating her with her wand and getting back on her broom. Poppy flew slowly off to the medical wing with Ron floating beside her like some kind of balloon.

"He'll be fine," she reassured Hermione. "I could tell from Poppy's face she wasn't that worried. I can get you in to see him later if you like."

Before Hermione could respond McGonagall turned to them all in cold anger. "Explain to me how this happened." Harper had always thought that McGonagall was a grandmotherly witch, but when she was angry she was scary as hell.


	20. Chapter 20 - Duel

**Duel**

Harper was quite pleased with the outcome of Ron and Malfoy's foolishness at their flying lesson. McGonagall docked ten house points off both Gryffindor and Slytherin, but only Malfoy got detention. She judged that Ron had punished himself enough with multiple fractures and a painful trip to the hospital wing.

After a less than pleasant visit with Ron Weasley, Harper walked back to the main hall with Hermione. "It was good of you to visit him. I'm sorry he was a prat about it." It probably would have gone better if Hermione hadn't offered her class notes, a list of assignments, and been cheerfully optimistic that Ron could complete them all while resting up.

Hermione nodded, but was uncharacteristically quiet. It took a while before she asked, "Harry, what did you say to convince Madame Pomfrey to let me see him? She didn't want to, but you whispered with her and she let me through."

Harper sighed. "I told her that you were muggle-born and seeing that accident was traumatic for you, because in the muggle world Ron would be in the hospital for months."

"You shouldn't have done that. Now she'll think I'm just a foolish muggle-born girl without any understanding of what witchcraft do."

"Hermione, I don't understand what magic can do." She didn't really, not even from reading the books. She been worried, but hadn't truly felt the danger until she faced the basilisk. The truth was the wizarding world was not _safe_. Doing magic was amazing, but wands could be deadly, badly brewed potions exploded, falling off brooms could be deadly, but wizards played Quidditch. In terms of risk of personal injury Quidditch was a hell of a lot more dangerous than rugby. Even after facing the basilisk, it still felt a little unreal. Hermione wasn't quite up to that yet and probably wouldn't understand until Halloween night and the troll attack. "You're learning quickly, Hermione. You're going to surprise them all — especially Ron Weasley. Tell me you won't rest easier now that you know he is recovering."

"That's true, but…" Hermione blushed. "You still shouldn't have told her that."

The promise to Hermione wasn't the only promise Harper had to keep. She also had a showdown with Malfoy to follow through on. She was as prepared as she could be. She'd spoken to the girls quietly and they were in on their part: sit, watch and testify that Malfoy and his cronies acted first. Harper knew her own role, taunt Malfoy. Blaise was ready to cover Goyle. However, Theo still worried her.

"Theo, your dad was on the dueling circuit. Surely you know a few good hexes."

Theo nodded in agreement. "I know a few. I was going to use the Slug Spewer."

Harper frowned. "That's a nasty one. You might want to go simple, like Jelly-Legs. You just have to keep Crabbe off me. I doubt he'll use his wand. He'll probably use his fists. He won't be punching anyone if he can't stand."

Theo scoffed. "That's a baby jinx. Where's the style in that?"

"We're just sending a message, not fighting a war. Jelly legs wears off fast. All Crabbe will do is fall down. You'll hurt his pride a little, but won't have him so pissed off you that he's hot and heavy for revenge." Plus the other reason, don't show your best moves in a minor scuffle.

Quiet man Blaise gave a little nod of approval, but it was show time because Malfoy just walked in through the door with Crabbe and Goyle. Harper stood and headed toward him. Her hand wanted to move over and grip her wand, but she kept her hands well away as she walked toward Malfoy. Time for his second lesson of the day. "Malfoy, I thought I made it clear that Longbottom was off limits."

"Again with Longbottom. Your parents were blood traitors, Potter, and blood bleeds true. Longbottom and Granger, a squib and mudblood. They don't even belong here." Crabbe and Goyle moved forward and tried to intimidate. "You need to learn who you're friends are."

Harper smiled. She wasn't alone. "I know who my friends are. I think you know Nott and Zabini. The Longbottoms are long-time allies of House Potter. You _will_ leave him alone." Her hand itched to grab her wand, but she wanted Malfoy to draw first. Time to push his buttons. "And if blood bleeds true, then your mother likes donkey sex, because there is no way Lucius Malfoy spawned a jackass like you."

"What?!" Malfoy screamed and reached for his wand.

That was all Harper was waiting for. She'd spent hours practicing the draw, left hand sweep back, reach across and cross-draw, wand already moving in the upward diagonal swish and pointing directly at Malfoy, give it a punch forward and "_Manipulus Wibbly_!"

The Jelly-Arms Jinx was a slight variation on the Jelly-Leg Jinx, not quite as difficult as the full body bind, it would still disable an opponent. Malfoy's arms went limp and his wand fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Theo came through with a Jelly Legs on Crabbe.

Blaise didn't even cast. He simply had his wand up and pointed at Goyle's throat. "Ah-ah-ah. Stay put."

Harper glanced at Goyle and he was staying put. Crabbe had fallen down when hit with Jelly-Legs and hadn't gotten up yet. So she ducked down and scooped up Malfoy's wand. That had been… easy. She glanced over to the girls and got a nod of approval from Davis. Pansy cheered. However, there were more than first years present. Two second-years watched with smirks. However, there had been a third-year girl who left.

Malfoy kept trying unsuccessfully to move his arms. "Potter, you are dead when my father hears about this. Dead. Dead. Dead."

Harper turned Malfoy's wand around. She really wanted to laugh at Malfoy, but she'd made her point. Now, she had to do the pureblood thing and be a gracious winner. "I offer an apology for the slurs against your family. You were brave to defend them so readily. I don't want to be your enemy, Malfoy, but I will be if you keep harassing my allies."

Gemma Farley, who was quickly becoming Harper's least favorite prefect ran into the room. "What's going on? No fighting in the common room!"

"Potter attacked me!" whined Malfoy.

"We were having a discussion about allies and our family ancestries when Malfoy tried to hex us. I was a bit faster."

This was where the girls should back them up. He was expecting Tracey, but Pansy rushed forward. "That's not exactly what happened. Malfoy started it by calling Potter's family blood traitors. He also tried to draw first. Emphasis on the try. Barely got his wand out of the sheath."

Harper gave Gemma her best smile, but Gemma scowled back. "Parkinson are you applying for a job as Potter's house-elf? Could you lay the sucking up on any thicker?" Gemma moved her hands to her hips, classic pissed off teen girl pose, "Bulstrode, what really happened?"

Milicent looked down. "Um, that's pretty much what happened." Both Tracey and Daphne nodded in agreement.

"This is an insult!" Malfoy jumped around with his arms waving back and forth like limp seaweed. "When my father hears about this —."

"Oh, bottle it, Malfoy. I recognize a couple of jellies when I see the effects. This is piddly stuff. Your daddy doesn't live in Slytherin house. However, this smells of set-up. I don't want this festering. Let's do this over and do it the honorable way. I'll counter the jellies. Malfoy, you and Potter can have a little duel, but not here in the commons. There are plenty of empty rooms nearby. If you others want to duel as well, let's do it. Get it over and keep it clean. So boys, what do you say?"

Harper smiled. Gemma was actually encouraging a duel? "Sounds good to me."

"That's about the only thing me and Potty can agree on. I'm going to kick your ass, Potter."

Everyone in the common room scattered to the dorms and quite a few more people turned out to watch. None of the others wanted to duel. So it was going to be Potter vs. Malfoy, round two. Harper was pretty pleased with the outcome. If only Pansy would stop fawning over her.

Gemma gave a loud whistle to get everyone's attention. "So Potter and Malfoy want to fight, so they're going to do it like true wizards. I probably shouldn't have to say this, but since you're both ickle firsties, I will. Hexes only. No damaging spells. No one goes to the nurse because of this. This is sealed to Slytherin house. Now, bow."

Harper faced off against Malfoy again, this time in what could only be called a proper duel. She bowed and they both drew. "_Rictusempra_!"

"Slugulu-" began Malfoy, but cut off in midstream as a silver beam from Harper's wand got him in the stomach. His words dissolved into snorts as he doubled over wheezing from the Tickling Charm.

However, Malfoy didn't drop his wand. Harper started to rush over there and take his wand from him, but 'fisticuffs' weren't allowed in duels. She wasn't sure if taking the wand from an incapacitated opponent counted or not. She'd have to ask Theo later, but to end this farce she cast the Jelly-Arm jinx again. Malfoy's arms went limp and once again he dropped his wand.

"Malfoy is disarmed. Potter wins," announced Gemma. She waved her wand and cast counters to the jinxes that Harper had you. "Now you two, is this over?"

Fortunately this was covered in her lessons. "I have defended the honor of my house and my allies, I am satisfied." She walked forward and bowed to Malfoy. Protocol called for them to shake hands, but given that spaghetti arms couldn't control hands, it would probably be an insult.

Malfoy bowed back, but whispered to her, "This has only begun, Potter. Nobody crosses a Malfoy."


	21. Chapter 21 - Duel Again

**Duel - Again**

While Malfoy said it wasn't over, Harper was hoping it was done. She'd followed pureblood traditions, played the game by their rules and won. However, Malfoy wasn't going to let it go. He shifted from obvious to convert. Over the next few days Harper got hit by numerous pranks: itching powder in her sheets, something that gave her hiccoughs for hours, frog eggs in her soap and more. She began to learn why Mad-Eye Moody preached constant vigilance. She spoke with Octavia and convinced her friend to teach her some spells for detecting magic and started checking her food, bed, clothes and possessions regularly for tampering. Those cut down on the pranks, but didn't stop them. On the plus side, she seemed to have attracted all of Malfoy's wrath onto herself. The blond boy bimbo of Slytherin left Hermione and Neville alone. Although the same couldn't be said for the Gryffindors.

It started in their next potions class when Harper deliberately crossed the aisle to Hermione. "Hey, Hermione, I notice you're the odd one out. I'm going to join you today."

"I don't mind, but I don't think it is allowed. Maybe you should ask Snape for permission first." Despite her reflexive deference to authority, she didn't sound upset at all to have company.

Harper started placing her things down. "It's allowed. Upper years mingle all the time. Pay more attention at meals, in the library or walk some by some classrooms and look in." This was maybe a slight exaggeration, but it was true. Students had siblings, friends and even dated across the house lines. It was just not common in the first year. "Does anyone tell the Patil twins not to sit together when you have classes with Ravenclaw?"

Hermione nodded. "Well argued, you have a point."

Ron Weasley wasn't as understanding when he arrived. "What are you doing over here, Potter? Hermione is an insufferable know-it-all, but she's still a Gryffindor. That makes her worth ten of you."

Harper turned to Ron Weasley. How had this creature ever been a friend to Harry Potter? "Ron, I mean this in the best possible way, but grow up."

"Why don't you make me, Potty?"

Harper gave him the eye roll. "Nobody can make you grow up, Weasel. You have to do that yourself."

Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan rose and went to back up Ron. "Ron's right. You should stick with your own kind. Hermione's a prig, but she's our prig. You're just trying to cheat off her."

Harper didn't want to back down, but this was going worse than she expected. Hermione was cringing from the confrontation. Blaise and Theo on the other hand both rose and looked ready to join in. Like Vader striding onto the scene, Snape walked in spreading disdain and fear. "What's going on? Get in your seats."

Harper sat. Brawl called due to Snape. For the first time the greasy-haired git had actually helped her. She sat down and started listening. As usual Snape gave a short and very vague lecture before setting them to work following directions in the book.

Naturally when Harper went varied those directions, she freaked. "Harry, what are you doing? It says stir slowly counterclockwise. You just stirred it in the wrong direction."

"The student notes say one turn clockwise for every nine to the counter." He watched Hermione to see how she would take it. She'd accepted the notes for History of Magic.

The bushy-haired witch looked conflicted. "Are there student notes for Potions, too?" Harper could almost see the conflict going on her head between her trust for him and the sacred print in the textbook.

"Of course, don't you have some in Gryffindor tower? We have books of them in Sytherin. Hermione, I turned in perfect potions both my other lessons. Do you believe Ron? Do you think I'd come over here and purposefully tank my grade just to sabotage you?"

"No, of course not." She still didn't look happy about it.

Harper had still been counting turns and this was the ninth. She followed the class notes and did one turn clockwise. Hermione didn't object. "So you trust me, then?"

She paused and nodded. "But you'll have to get me a copy of the notes."

Harper frowned and shot a look in Snape's direction. "I can't. They're Slytherin house notes. They're not like the ones for Binns. I can work with you, follow their instructions, and you can take notes, but I can't give you a copy." This was her way of getting the notes out in the open. Snape could hardly complain when she was doing it right in front of him.

"That doesn't seem fair."

Harper thought about making a comment about she was a Slytherin, so of course it wasn't fair. While it was true, it wouldn't help. So she just counted 'corrupting' Hermione into not following a book as a victory. Snape himself clinched the victory when he pronounced their potion to done to be acceptable, which was high praise from him.

As they left the classroom Harper naturally fell in behind Blaise and Theo. For the first time Hermione left the Gryffindor herd and followed along. They had been talking and it had happened so naturally that Harper didn't even notice it, but others did.

"Hey, Hermione!" came the voice of Ron Weasley from behind them. "I knew you weren't one of us, but I had you pegged for a 'Claw not a snake. I guess your true colors are green and silver."

When she turned to look, Harper noticed Ron brought friends. Neville stood by Ron's side. Dean and Seamus backed him up. She hoped Blaise and Theo had her back, because this could get ugly. "We were talking! You are not my father, or my brother and you aren't even a friend. Harry is."

Harper felt like cheering. Hermione had been guardedly friendly, but hadn't openly declared them to be friends. Thanks to Ron's pushing, she'd chosen sides.

"If you're friends with a snake, you don't belong with us. Why don't you go ask Dumbledore if you can be resorted?" Ron advanced on her. Dean and Seamus echoed his sentiments.

Harper stepped forward to Hermione's side. "I for one would be proud to have her in Slytherin House. I think she could have done well in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat got it right. She has the heart of a true lion. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to prejudices. She's a hell of a lot braver than you."

Ron focus went from Hermione to Harper in an instant. "Are you calling me a coward, Potter?"

She hadn't planned to do that, but the shoe fit. "To be honest, I do wonder what you're doing in the house of the Brave, Weasley."

Ron's face twisted up. "I challenge you to a wizard's duel then. Tonight. We'll use one of the empty classrooms on the third floor."

Wait, wasn't this familiar? A challenge to a wizard's duel at night. "Challenge accepted, but you need to brush up on your protocols, Weasley. As the challenged party, I choose time and place. I choose here and now."

"What?! In the hallway. Are you nutters?"

"Snape left already. It's lunchtime. If there were any teachers or prefects around they would have already told us off. So put up or shut up."

"Harry!" hissed Hermione. "You shouldn't do this. It's against school rules to do magic in the hallways. Dueling is forbidden as well."

Harper couldn't even spare a glance at Hermione, not with a duel pending. She kept her eyes on Ron who nodded. "I accept. Longbottom is my second."

"Theo is mine. Everyone else, back up." She kept her eyes on Ron, but everyone else did back up and give them room. He noticed that they weren't as alone as he thought. Tracey and Daphne were watching as well. She bowed to Ron and he bowed as well.

Upward swish, point, jab. ""_Manipulus Wibbly_!"

However, Ron didn't stay put. He'd ducked and weaved. The spell ended up sailing on past to strike Seamus. Ron brought his wand out and returned fire with a spell of his own. "_Phelgmteropin_."

What the hell was that? Harper felt it hit her. Suddenly she felt a burning twitching sensation in her nose and things started crawling out of her nose. Not things. Bats. Bats were crawling out of her nose and flying away.

Ron was already casting again. "_Stupefy!_"

Harper felt the spell hit and tried to shrug it off. Ron's spell packed a punch, but didn't take her down. It was hard to concentrate on anything with bats crawling out of her nose and flying around. She dodged and tried to get off the Stuttering Jinx. "_Stutarae_."

However Ron was still moving and cast again. "_Stupefy_."

The world starting spinning and went a little dark. Harper felt herself hit the floor and dimly heard Theo fulfill his job as second. "Potter yields."

As Harper lay there it occurred to her what she'd done wrong. She'd learned hexes and had practiced her speed draw. She hadn't practiced dueling. She'd just stood there confident her first hex would do the job. Ron hadn't stood there. He'd dodged and kept casting. Obviously she had a lot to learn still.

Ron moved into her vision and bowed to her. "I'm no coward, Potter. Granger, come on. Let's go."

"I'm not some prize! I'm staying with Harry."

Ron shrugged. "Suit yourself, but you don't belong in Gryffindor." He walked off and the Gryffindors followed with Neville trailing behind them.

Hermione looked to the Slytherins. "We need to get him to Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing. Will you help?"

Theo shook his head. "I've got this. That was the Bat-Bogey Hex. I know the counter. That and a Reviving spell and he'll be fine."

"Please fix him, so I can kick him." Hermione scowled. "Do you know how many rules you broke?"

Pansy scoffed. "I think he's brave and noble. Everyone knows the Weasleys know more hexes and jinxes when they arrive than half the third years. If Harry defended my honor he'd be getting a kiss. You want to kick him while he's down."

Harper watched as the other three Slytherin girls joined Pansy. None of them looked happy with Hermione. Harper was starting to think that facing Lord Voldemort would be easier than dealing with all the wizarding rivalries and teen bullshit. At least Malfoy hadn't been there to watch.

* * *

**A/N**: Growing up with Fred and George as older brothers is it really a surprise that Ron knows how to duel?


	22. Chapter 22 - Halloween

**Halloween**

As days turned into weeks and Hogwarts the tween drama slowly settled down. Hermione was a pariah in her own house, but had won Theo's grudging acceptance. Blaise was still in the anti-Malfoy alliance, but was very solitary, so the golden trio, if it existed seemed to be Theo, Harry and Hermione. Harper wasn't sure it did exist. Hermione made an excellent study partner, but she was awkward about being a friend. That suited Harper fine. While she sometimes managed to let go with Theo, she usually couldn't relax enough to just play or chatter with her classmates. It helped that the Slytherins were generally mature for their age, but not enough.

So Harper spent a lot of free time working ahead in all her topics and pushing herself. While the final confrontation with Voldemort was years away, Quirrellmort was already here. However, Quirrell could keep a while. She had a more immediate threat to face. She had to be ready to fight a mountain troll on Halloween. She planned to avoid it if possible by not letting Hermione cry alone in the girl's toilet, but Harper feared that the confrontation was fated. So she had to be ready.

Part one of that was learning how to fight. She leaned on Theo for that and got him to coach her at dueling and hexes. While Theo still had anxiety issues, he turned out to be an excellent instructor. They would wake early, jog out well away from school, go several rounds of dueling each other, and then jog back. After a few weeks she was certain she could take Weasley in a rematch. She wasn't at all sure about taking down a fully grown mountain troll. She hoped that a simple _Wingardium Leviosa_ on its club would take it down, but what if it didn't?

She'd read up on trolls. They were resistant to most magics and they regenerated. So a simple stunner like _Stupefy_ or a cutter like _Diffindo_ wouldn't hurt them. Sunlight did weaken trolls and Harper could manage _Lumos Solem_, but that turned out to be useless. _Lumos Solem_ would work against creatures or plants like Devil's Snare that feared bright light, but it wasn't true sunlight and wouldn't hurt vampires, trolls or other dark creatures vulnerable to sunlight. There was another light spell that would, but it was way beyond Harper's ability to perform. The best bet seemed to be fire. She could manage an _Incendio_ and the spell was elemental, so the more power she put into it the bigger the flame. She found she could get even better results by using the _Forte_ and _Maxima_ spell augments, but those quickly left her exhausted.

To her study list she added the Flame-Freezing Charm and the Extinguishing Charm. After all she didn't want to burn up herself or Hermione. She wanted something to protect Hermione, but both _Protego_ and _Accio_ were well above her skill level. She settled for learning the Cushioning Charm, but she wasn't sure it would be good enough. She even looked at adding an accelerant, like gasoline, alcohol or a potion. There were numerous flammable and explosive potions, but none looked safe. She didn't want to accidentally fry Hermione. Looking up flammable potions led her to flame salves, which sounded like a good idea, so she also brewed up a jar of flame salve and a minor healing draught. She added a strength potion to the mix. She didn't plan to use it, but if her plan to burn the troll up failed, she had a backup.

Prior to Halloween she enacted Plan A — don't let Hermione be alone in that bathroom in the first place. It was ridiculously simple to do. She just arranged to study with Hermione after classes and before the feast. To Harper's surprise, Hermione showed up. Her eyes looked a little red like she had been crying and she didn't want to talk, but they sat down and studied together until it was time for the feast. Harper walked with her until they got to the Great Hall.

"Hermoine, why don't you come sit with me at the Slytherin table?" It wasn't the first time that Harper had made that offer. Hermione always refused, even though she sat alone most of the time.

This time was no different. Hermione shook her head. "No, I have to sit with my house. I can sit with Lavender and Pavarti. They're not so bad, really."

"You know there is no rule stating you have to sit with your house. I've seen others swap tables. One of the Slytherin prefects has a Ravenclaw girlfriend."

Hermione sighed. "It's a feast. I have to sit with my house. Maybe some other day. We still on to study tomorrow?"

"Of course, enjoy the feast, Hermione." Harper gave her the little bow that a pureblood wizard should do when taking leave of a witch and went to join the Slytherins. She sat down by Theo and Blaise where she could keep an eye on Hermione. It was disappointing that Hermione still wouldn't join them, but more importantly she was safe.

She spent the feast talking with Theo and keeping an eye on Hermione. She'd lied about Lavender and Pavarti. She was sitting beside them, but she had a book out while she ate. Harper glancing Hermione's way, reassuring herself that the Gryffindor girl was still safe and hadn't left, but she had the odd feeling that something was wrong. It took her a while to pin it down. There were only three Slytherin first year girls present.

"Theo? Where is Daphne?"

Theo shrugged. "Why should I know? Ask Tracey."

Which just made too much sense. Tracey and Daphne were almost always found together. Harper got up and moved over to where the girls were talking. "Tracey, may I word with you please?"

"Ooh, you can have words with me, Harry!" volunteered Pansy.

"Sure." Trace rose and stepped away from the table. "What do you want?"

Harper was certain something was wrong. "I just wanted to know why Daphne wasn't at the feast."

"She wasn't feeling good, not that it's any of your business." She turned to walk away.

"Wait! Where is she?" Please let her be in the Slytherin rooms.

"Why do you care all of a sudden? You have Pansy throwing herself at you while you're chasing your little pet Gryffindor. Like I said, it's really none of your business."

Harper couldn't think of a snappy comeback. She had mostly ignored the Slytherin girls, especially Daphne and Millicent. Millicent was too shy and Daphne was too aloof. Greengrass was the ice princess, too good for anyone else, even Harry Potter. "I'm sorry that I didn't make more of an effort with you girls. You're almost always with Pansy and she overdoes the hero worship stuff. Please, just let me know if she's in the dorm or not. Please?"

Tracey looked at him in puzzlement. "Harry, I think I know what's wrong now. Malfoy slipped you a love potion and keyed it to Daphne. He's probably getting a big laugh out of this, the wanker. We need to get you to the hospital wing."

"No, it's not a love potion. It's just…"

Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Harper turned to stare as he reached Dumbledore's chair. The faker slumped against the table and gasped, "Troll—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know." Then he sank to the floor in a fake faint.

The Great Hall erupted into a huge uproar as everyone started talking at once. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from Dumbledore's wand to quiet the crowd. "Prefects," he rumbled. "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Many of the Slytherins started getting up, but their prefects weren't moving. "Not us. Our dorm is in the dungeon. We stay put."

Harper grabbed Tracey by the arm and shook her. "Tracey! Is she in the dorm or not? I think she's in danger!"

"She went for a walk. To clear her head she's not in the dungeon, but I don't know where she is."

"I think I do. Stay here with the others. I'll find her." Harper quickly blended herself in with the Ravenclaw students, walking slowly and slipping to the back of the line.

However, she wasn't alone. Tracey Davis joined her. "Potter, so help me if this is some prank of yours and she gets hurt from it, I'll hex your bits off."

"It's not a prank and you should go back. It's a troll."

"She's my best friend. By Merlin, she's my only friend. I'm coming with you."

"Fine, quiet now." She took Tracey by the hand and ducked away from the tail end of the line of Ravenclaws. She waited for a moment, but they weren't noticed. "Alright, this way." She dropped Tracey's hand and hurried.

"How do you know where she is?" asked Tracey.

Harper jogged down the corridor. "Later. Keep up!" She turned a corner into the hallway where Charms was held. There was a girl's bathroom there and…

Twelve foot tall, its skin dull and gray as granite with a lumpy body like a boulder and a small bald head like a coconut, a mountain troll lumbered down the hallway. The smell coming from it was fould. It held a club large enough for a small tree that it dragged behind. As Harper watched it shifted its head and sniffed. Abruptly it turned and kicked a door… and went into the girl's bathroom.

Harper turned to Tracey. "Stay here. Or better yet find a teacher."

"W-why? Just leave it alone! Or lock it in if you must, but stay away." Tracey's usual teasing banter was gone. She now looked like a scared young girl.

"I can't. Daphne's in there." Harper sprinted for the bathroom, pulled to a halt and darted inside.

The troll was advancing on Daphne Greengrass. The blond Slytherin girl was obviously frightened, but she stood on her feet facing it. She pointed her wand at it. "_Lumos!_" A bright beam of light shined at the troll's face, but that didn't seem to bother it much.

Harper started casting and took careful aim at its club. Swish and flick. "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The troll's club levitated up and out of its hands and the stupid thing looked up. Harper let the spell go and it came down on the troll's head with a loud thump. The troll didn't drop.

She'd learned her lesson after her fight with Ron and was already casting at Daphne. "_Pyrus Nullo!_" She quickly repeated at herself. "_Pyrus Nullo!_" That would protect her and Daphne from stray flames.

The troll paused a moment to recover its club, but then it was back after Daphne. She was trying hex after hex, some of which did nothing, others literally bounced off its hide.

Harper walked up to just behind it and aimed her wand at its smelly arse. "_Incendio Forte!_"

While mountain trolls aren't that bright, they do notice when someone sets their arse on fire. It bellowed in pain, a primal yell that shook the walls. It tried to escape, but there was nowhere for it to run. Harper kept the flames shooting from her wand like a flame thrower as it turned and tried to escape the flame. It's loose leather pants burned up and Harper had enough time to see it was male. She deliberately aimed the flame at its bits. "Run, Daphne!"

Instead of running, Daphne was still hexing it. Harper had enough time to register a foot aimed at her. Then there was pain and flying backwards and her spell had cut off. The troll was no on fire, it's clothes burning and it was swinging its club almost randomly. Harper saw the massive club coming at her and from somewhere found the energy to roll out of its way. Her chest screamed in pain. Something broke there. The bellowing troll lifted the club up again.

Swish and flick. "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Again the spell disarmed the troll. Harper maintained it and tried to edge away.

The troll grew louder and increasingly erratic in its motions. Somehow it got itself entangled in the stalls and started battering at the walls. Finally Daphne ran, but she didn't go out the door. She stopped and bent over. She said something about needing to leave. It was hard to hear over the bellows of the troll. Harper just nodded and forced herself up. It hurt, but it was just pain. She managed to get out the door before she fell over at the feet of Professors McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell.

The next thing she knew she was in the hospital wing with a worried Poppy hovering over her. "Awake again, are you? And looking lucid this time. How are you feeling?"

Harper knew she should be hurting, but she didn't at least not much. "I'm feeling pretty good, all things considered."

"Good! Do you remember what you did?"

Harper nodded. "Yes. Is Daphne okay?"

"Miss Greengrass didn't get a scratch on her. I really can't scold you for saving her life, but I don't know what you were thinking fighting a troll by yourself. I'm going to get you some food then I'm going to dose you again… You scared me, Harry. I know I'm your guardian and not your mother, but I think of you as one of my own."

Harper nodded and felt herself tearing up. "I think of you as almost my mum, too. I know you're not really but…"

Poppy sat down and hugged her. "Thank you. You've got to be more careful."

"I'll try." That was the best she could promise, because she knew that this was small compared to what was in store for her.


	23. Chapter 23 - Life Debt

**Life Debt**

Breakfast came early with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, buttered toast, and baked beans. It was traditionally Scottish, but Harper still didn't think that baked beans went with breakfast.

Poppy pulled up a stool and sat down. "Harry, I need to talk to you as your guardian now and not your nurse."

Harper nodded and finished chewing. She took a sip of juice to clear her mouth before she spoke. "I suppose that I'm in trouble for leaving the Great Hall?"

"Perhaps some, although I expect that saving a girl's life will more than offset that. Professor Snape will want to talk to you later, but he'll have to wait his turn. Lord Greengrass and his daughter are waiting to talk to you. I can hold them off until you eat breakfast and get presentable, but they cannot be postponed long."

Harper studied the woman he regarded as almost his second mother. She was a formal and reserved person by nature, but as they had built a relationship Poppy had relaxed. Now her formality was back. "I take it this isn't just a social call?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm very proud of the way you've embraced wizarding customs, Harry, but we only had a short time together. We focused on the customs for most common occasions, but I don't believe I ever told you about life debts."

Harper nodded in understanding. The books featured at least two life debts: one owed by Pettigrew to Harry and one owed by Snape to Harry's father. "I heard or read something about them. I take it that Daphne owes me a life debt and some day she'll have to do me a big favor, but that's about it."

"Good. That's it in a nutshell, but it's more than that." Poppy sighed. "A life debt is much more than a big favor. Miss Greengrass owes you her _life_. That cannot be paid off merely with gold or helping you with your homework. She could pay it off by saving your life, by doing you a great service at the risk of her own life, or possibly by marrying you."

Harper was glad she didn't have food in her mouth or it might have gone everywhere. "Marrying me? I'm only eleven. I'm too young to marry anyone." Not to mention that despite outward appearances she was a girl inside! While she hadn't had much time to research it lately she still hoped to reclaim her proper gender someday.

"Marriage wouldn't happen for years, but a betrothal is possible and I guarantee her father is considering that now. In fact, he'll have a hard time arranging a marriage with her to anyone else once this is known. She'll be considered sullied goods."

"What? Why?" This was so unfair. Poppy was acting like she'd taken Daphne's virginity instead of saving her life. Even that was archaic. Who used the words sullied goods to describe a living breathing person?

"Because she owes a life debt to you. Miss Greengrass can no longer be trusted to keep secrets from you. She most certainly cannot be expected to actively plot against you. Understand that sooner or later most noble houses, even the best of allies, conflict about some things. If you don't want to marry her, then her father will try to arrange something with one of your allied houses, or marry her somewhere beyond England entirely."

"This is what I get for saving a girl's life? Are there no other options?"

Poppy paused. "Perhaps. You're underage now, but when you reach your majority and become Lord Potter, you could demand that Miss Greengrass be made part of your family. In effect you would adopt her."

"So I could have a daughter who is the same age as me?" Wonderful, but this didn't track what happened in the books. Neither Snape nor Wormtail acted like this. "What if they didn't? What if we just pretended the life debt didn't exist."

"Harry, dear, I know this makes you uncomfortable, but that would be bad. There are stories and legends of people who fought a life debt. There is a real tragic one from Japan of a man who owed a life debt to his rival. He ended up betraying his entire family to honor his debt. Life debts that ignored tend to end in tragedy. It's deep magic. The life debt will be honored one way or another. Magic itself will see to that. I'm not saying that you have to marry Miss Greengrass, but you cannot pretend the life debt doesn't exist."

Harper looked at her barely touched breakfast. "Fine. I won't ignore it. What do you suggest that I do?"

Poppy sighed. "I wish I knew. First, don't let Lord Greengrass push you into a betrothal unless you decide that's what you want. You saved his daughter's life. You could demand a betrothal. He cannot demand anything. Second, try to be friends with Miss Greengrass. You might find that you like her. If you don't want to marry her, magic will find a way for her to repay her debt. Third, be the upstanding young man that I know you are. Be honorable and don't use the debt against her."

"Alright. That I can do." It still felt like she was being punished for saving Daphne's life. Why had none of this happened when Harry and Ron saved Hermione in the first book? Or had it? Was that why Hermione had fallen in love with a prat like Ron? "Can I have some time to think and eat my breakfast before I have to meet Lord Greengrass?"

"Of course, Harry."

Her breakfast had gone cold, but Poppy gave her a chance to eat, change into clean clothes and fix her hair. Harper still didn't like Harry's hair. About all she could do was add a little volume and go for the wind-blown look. That was such a difficult look to pull off, especially at eleven, but she didn't have much choice. Poppy spent a few minutes coaching Harper on what to expect. Then Poppy showed in Daphne and her father.

Lord Greengrass was older than Harper had expected. He looked like he was on the downhill side of middle aged. He was a bit stout about the middle, but not quite fat. He had a ruddy complexion and a stern visage. He had the same pale blond hair as his daughter, but his eyes were brown instead of Daphne's blue-gray. Daphne and Lord Greengrass both had on formal dress robes.

Poppy did the introductions. "Harry, heir to the House of Potter, I would like to introduce you to Lord Roman of the House of Greengrass. Lord Roman Greengrass, this is Harry, heir to the House of Potter, and my ward under our customs and traditions."

Harper bowed deeply and formally and then offered her hand which Lord Greengrass took and clasped. His grasp was firm, but not bonecrushing.

"Mister Potter, I have come here today because you have saved my daughter's life. I have tested and confirmed that she owes you a life debt. May I present, Daphne, daughter of the House of Greengrass to you."

Daphne curtsied and it wasn't her usual minimal bob. She dipped low and lowered her head almost to the floor and held it.

Harper responded as she had been coached. "I acknowledge the life debt." She watched Daphne as she rose. The ice princess was an ice queen today, cold and defiant.

"As heir to the House of Potter do you wish to claim my daughter?" The man's voice was as cold as his daughter's stare.

"As I am underage and not yet Lord Potter, I cannot take your daughter into my house as my ward at this time. Nor do I demand her betrothal to me. I ask for the opportunity to get to know your daughter and your house better. Perhaps at some point in the future, either would be possible."

Lord Greengrass gave a slight bow. "That is agreeable. Daughter, you will at all times treat Mister Potter with courtesy and respect. He may escort you in public locations as long as you both are properly chaperoned. Mister Potter, I do insist that you do not presume upon the debt. If you take my daughter in body, you will take her in matrimony as well or know my wrath."

Whoa! That last part wasn't on the script. "I won't take advantage of your daughter."

Poppy laid a hand on Harper's shoulder. "Harry Potter is an honorable young man and my ward. I don't appreciate the threat, Lord Greengrass."

"I stand by my word. Mister Potter, I would like you to visit my home at the next possible opportunity to get to know you better. Shall we say during the winter break?"

Harper glanced to Poppy and she gave a small nod. "If my guardians are welcome as well, Lord Greengrass. I await your owl with details."

"You'll have them within the week. I have business. Madame Pomfrey, my daughter would like some words with Mister Potter. Will you watch over them?"

"I will, Lord Greengrass," agreed Poppy.

With bows and curtsies everyone took their leave. Harper couldn't help but think that Lord Greengrass was just a bad a parent in his way as Vernon Dursley. She really hoped that he wasn't that formal all the time. She also thought that it was incredibly wrong that they had all discussed Daphne's future right in front of her and she hadn't said one word.

"I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be close by if you need me." With that Poppy walked off.

Harper studied Daphne. She still looked just as cold and aloof. "I'm sorry about all that. I don't regret saving your life, but I was muggle-raised and I found that whole scene distasteful."

Daphne nodded coldly. "I know you prefer the Granger girl. I ask one thing of you. Please, don't make me into your mistress. I could stand another woman in your bed, but I'll take my life before I play second fiddle to a muggle-born."

"What?! Where does this come from? I said nothing about your being my mistress."

"You did. You spoke of claiming me for your house."

"As my ward. When I'm of age, not as a mistress."

"Please, if you were twenty years older, maybe even ten years older that might be true. We are of the same age. If you claim me it would be as a mistress, or a concubine if you prefer the older term. Either way my place in society would be gone. That's bad enough, but I refuse to be placed beneath a muggle-born. If she was of a proper family, that would be different." Her cold indifference had now gone to cold anger.

Harper found herself growing angry. It was bad enough to be accused of wanting to make her into a mistress. Her bigotry against muggle-borns was just offensive. "Daphne, you're talking rubbish. I talked to Poppy about this and she said you would be my ward. I was muggle-raised and personally I think you're getting the shitty end of the stick. If there was a way I could wave away this life debt, I would. However, I don't want a mistress and I like Hermione as a _friend_." Harper felt herself losing control, but screw it. "Would you rather I had not saved you? Would you rather be dead?"

Daphne looked down for a moment before looking back up. She locked eyes onto Harper's. "No," she whispered. "I like being alive. Thank you, for saving my life."

Harper studied Daphne. She seemed sincere. "I know you don't have any choice in this, but I don't have a lot of choices either because I refuse to be a bastard about this. Can we try just getting to know each other? Just be friends first. If we like each other, we'll see." Not bloody likely, at least not in a romantic way. "If we don't, then I'll try to help you to a marriage of your choice, when you are ready."

Daphne gave a slight curtsey. "Very well, Mister Potter. We can try."

Harper sighed. "Can we go back to being Harry and Daphne, please?"

She shook her head. "You may call me whatever you wish, but I am to treat you with courtesy and respect, Mr. Potter."

Harper wondered if she could order Daphne to knock it off and call her Harry, but she didn't have the right to give Daphne orders. "So I suppose the whole school knows about us?"

"I don't know. There hasn't been an official announcement, but most purebloods could probably work it out. Tracey knows. She thought it was romantic. Pansy hasn't worked it out yet. She was jealous, but wanted all the details. I don't think she knows about the life debt…" She paused. "Mr. Potter, if I may be so bold, _how_ did you know that I was in danger? If you had arranged it somehow, there wouldn't be a life debt. Yet you knew exactly where I was and arrived just in time to save me."

Oh bloody hell. "If I tell you, will you tell me how much Tracey let drop?"

"I'll tell you gladly, Mr. Potter. I'm in your debt after all. Tracey told them nothing. She said that the two of you had noticed me missing, that you went looking for me, and heard my scream."

Harper allowed herself a sigh of relief. "Tracey is a clever girl. I'll tell you, but it's a secret." She had a plan for emergencies like this. She had hoped never to need it, but she'd read up. It should pass in the wizarding world. "I think I've got a little bit of seer in me. Not much, but I plan on taking Divination in third year. Sometimes I get dreams. Usually I don't remember them at the time, but sometimes later I get an ominous feeling of déjà vu and I remember. In this case I dreamed of a troll, a girl and that bathroom."

"Was it a girl, or me specifically?" asked Daphne. Her voice had gone softer.

"It wasn't you specifically." Harper considered saying it was Hermione, but given Daphne's earlier comments about muggle-borns she decided to keep that to herself.

"I'm trusting you, because of your life debt. This is one of my secrets. Guard it well." She would really have rather not have told Daphne at all, but the kind of fortelling she'd described wasn't unheard of in the wizarding world. It was rare, but not as rare as being a true seer.

Daphne curtsied again. "I will guard your secrets as my own, Mr. Potter, even from my family and friends, but… I suggest you bring Tracey into your confidence. If you don't tell her, she'll hound us both until she gets answers."

This just kept getting more and more complicated. "Very well, I'll tell her. I'll probably have to bring Theo in as well. He's too smart not to have questions. Can the two of you join us tomorrow morning when Theo and I go jogging?"

"I can arrange that," agreed Daphne. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Potter?"

Can we just talk like people? It didn't seem likely to happen any time soon, but she could try. "Can you tell me why you were in that bathroom and not at the feast?"

Daphne nodded slowly. "It's one of my secrets, one shared with few, but you should know. I'd received an owl yesterday morning from my father. Lucius Malfoy expressed interest in aligning our houses. It was not a betrothal, but it was the first step to a betrothal. I received much the same instructions about Malfoy as my father gave to me regarding you. Namely, that I was to treat him with the utmost courtesy and respect. I needed some time to be alone. I didn't take it very well."

Harper frowned in distaste at the thought of being wed to Malfoy. "Now that you owe me a life debt, does that still apply?"

Daphne shook her head, her blond locks shifting as she did. "No, that's gone now. I owe you, now. My father is not happy. The Malfoy's would have been strong allies for our House. Now he has to deal with House Potter, who have never been allies of House Greengrass. Worse, he cannot even demand a fair price for his pureblood filly, because you have the right to just take me any time you wish." The cold disdain was back.

"I'm not going to 'just take you', Daphne. Are you upset about the arrangement with Malfoy falling through?"

"Draco is everything a pureblood girl wants in a boy: rich, pure in blood, and a powerful family. I also hate his guts." Her hate for Malfoy certainly had heat in it. "So no, I'm not upset. I suppose in a way you've saved me twice."

If saving millions of people from cancer wasn't enough reason, this stupid arranged marriages and selling of daughters like cattle was further proof that wizarding society had to change. Harper had every intention of changing it.


	24. Chapter 24 - Consequences

**Consequences**

Harper waited until Daphne walked away before turning to her second mother. "Poppy, why didn't you tell me that if I took Daphne as my ward, I'd be making her my mistress? That's a pretty important detail."

Poppy huffed. "I didn't tell you because it doesn't have to be so. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but from what I heard, Miss Greenglass is focusing on the negatives. I don't think she trusts you not to take advantage of her. I think you got through her shell a little at the end. At least she quieted down, but you could take her as a ward, and then help her to another marriage. It doesn't necessarily make her a mistress. You wouldn't do that to her."

"Didn't have to be? That was still an important detail to leave out!"

"I'm sorry. You're still so young. Mistresses aren't spoken of openly. They exist, but they're ignored. You simply don't talk about them in polite society."

Right, because not talking about it makes them not exist. Her father had tried that for a while. He tried to ignore she had cancer, but that didn't make it go away. There certainly hadn't been mistresses in the Harry Potter books… Damn. There had been something about 'scarlet women'. Plus the books were aimed at children. In a school full of children of mixed gender, nobody did anything more than snog before marriage. So it was pretty much a given that some of the more adult details were glossed over. "I'm sorry for being so bitchy, especially after you patched me up again. I suppose you can send Snape in now."

"No, dear, you're free to go now. You need to report to Professor Snape in his office." Poppy hugged Harper. "Please be more careful."

Harper hugged her second mum. "I'm sorry, again Poppy." She hugged her adopted mum. "Please forgive me."

"It's already forgotten, dear."

Although it was mid-morning the hallways were surprisingly empty. She should have expected it since the day after Halloween was a holiday at Hogwarts. That was because the feast was only the start of the Halloween festivities. Almost everyone stayed up late. For students in the fourth year and up, a Halloween Dance followed the feast. Most pureblood students would leave the dance before it was over to celebrate Samhain at the Stone Ring. While wizarding Britain was nominally Christian they still kept many of the Old Ways. It was also a day of high magic, and as had been explained in Astronomy, certain rituals could only be performed on that day. Not that any of those rituals would happen at Hogwarts, but Harper had still been curious. Even though most of the students were either sleeping in or enjoying a day without classes, the hallways weren't completely empty. As she headed down to talk to Snape she encountered Professor Flitwick.

"Mr. Potter! You're looking fit. I trust you're recovered." Flitwick was usually a jovial man, but he seemed more eager than usual.

"Mostly, sir. Thank you for your concern."

"Tell me about the _troll_, Potter. I want every gory detail."

Since Flitwick was a professor she couldn't very well refuse. So she launched into an abbreviated version of the story. In this version, she'd found the troll by sheer dumb luck and gotten lucky with an _Incendio_ spell.

"An interesting story, Potter, perhaps you should tell it to Professor Snape, but not the one I think you'll tell later. I wanted the blow-by-blow. It's a remarkable feat for a lad of your years to defeat a full-grown troll as well as a clever use of the Levitation Charm to disarm it. However, you're also being far too modest. I saw the burn marks on that troll. How did you do it?"

"I used the _Forte_ augment, sir."

"Really? We don't teach that until third year. Do you understand what it does?"

"Yes, sir. It increases the power of a spell and dramatically increases the power drain on a wizard. As such it is best suited for strong wizards or in emergencies. I know there are better fire charms, but I don't know them, sir. An augmented _Incendio_ is the only thing that I currently know that could hurt a troll."

"Very well said. Demonstration please."

Harper pulled out her wand and pointed up and down the hall being sure she wouldn't hit the walls. "_Incendio Forte_!" She pushed power into it for a few seconds allowing a fountain of flame burn brightly before ceasing the spell.

Flitwick clapped. "Well done! Very well done, Mr. Potter. Five points for Slytherin. I wish I could give you more for defeating a troll, but that will be up to Snape. Very few first years could produce such an impressive elemental display. I now you studied with Steven Pomfrey over the summer and got a head start, but it's not uncommon for young wizards who come from wizarding families to come to Hogwarts with a little bit of knowledge. I'm impressed at the way you've not only kept up with your studies, but continued to work ahead. Keep up the good work!"

Harper smiled. Flitwick seemed to be in an especially good mood. There was an item on her to-do list that involved Flitwick and this looked like an excellent opportunity to bring it up. "Sir, I think it is wrong that a school like Hogwarts, that claims to be the finest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry doesn't have a dueling club. I looked it up. Hogwarts had a dueling club for hundreds of years, but it was disbanded after some kind of incident seven years ago. Beauxbatons has a dueling club. Durmstrang has two: one for witches and one for wizards."

Flitwick sighed. "And you want me to help because I was once a Dueling Champion. That was many years ago and it is the responsibility of the professor teaching Defense against the Dark Arts to organize any Dueling Club. It says so in your student handbook."

"Professor, no Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has held the position for longer than a year for the eighteen years. Everyone knows the position is cursed."

"I hear the passion in your voice, but my hands are tied. You need to speak with Professor Quirrell to sponsor the club, or to the Headmaster to change the rules."

She wasn't giving up that easy. "Professor, if I could convince Professor Quirrell to sponsor the club again, would you be willing to co-sponsor? That way when the DADA curse strikes again, at least the club won't be disbanded."

Flitwick smiled. "Very clever, Mr. Potter. I believe that would fall within the school policies. Yes, Mr. Potter. If you can convince Professor Quirrell, then I will co-sponsor."

"Thank you, professor. I'd better run now. Professor Snape is expecting me."

Flitwick chucled. "Then you had best run along, lad. May your enemies suffer."

Oh, goblin. "May your gold increase, sir."

She hurried off pleased with the outcome. Reforming the Hogwarts dueling club was one of many items on her to do list. After all, dueling was only one step removed from combat. She fully intended to be better prepared for danger than Harry had been. Of course, she still had to convince Lord Voldemort and Quirrell to do it. No problem.

She wasn't sure what to expect from Snape. So far the greasy-haired git had been something of a conundrum for Harper. He was snide and cutting to everyone. She was one of his favorite targets for pop questions, but she managed to field most of his questions because she always studied ahead. While she hadn't gotten them all right, she had amply demonstrated that she was truly competent at potions. She had also yet to fail to complete an assigned potion to 'acceptable' level. While she did get more insults and glares from Snape than the other Slytherins, the greasy git picked on most of the Gryffindors worse. She still had no respect for him as a teacher. It was so very obvious how he favored the Slytherins. At her best guess, Snape was conflicted about what to do about her. He jumped on her, but because she was a Slytherin, he didn't punish her that harshly. When he did find her answers lacking, he never deducted points from Harper. He always assigned extra work, usually several inches on whatever failing he'd perceived.

Snape looked up in irritation from his desk when she entered his office. "Potter, have a seat."

She sat down in the chair opposite Snape. It was a hard and uncomfortable seat. No doubt Snape chose that on purpose to make his victims squirm. "I would have been here sooner, sir, but I ran into Professor Flitwick. He gave me five points for Slytherin, sir."

Snape gave a small grunt that didn't sound happy. "I suppose that you think I should congratulate you, Potter?"

"I thought earning points for our house would please you, sir."

"And did you think leaving the Great Hall when there was a troll loose in the castle would please me?!" For the first time she felt like she was seeing the real Snape, anger and bitter.

"No, sir. I'm ashamed to say it, but I didn't think. I just acted. I knew Miss Greenglass was out there with the troll and I took it upon myself to find her. If I had thought things through, I would have told our prefects so we could send out search parties. I know that I was foolish and I'm willing to accept whatever punishment you set me." She kept her voice contrite and practiced clearing her mind. She knew there was no way she was avoiding punishment, so the best she could do was own up to what she'd done and take her punishment.

"Any punishment, Potter?" Snape's anger was cold now. "I don't think you realize the enormity of your blunder. You not only put yourself in danger; you put Miss Davis in danger because she followed you. You also put Miss Greenglass in danger by not seeking out more competent people to search for her. The mere happenstance that you got lucky does not excuse your horrible lack of judgment."

Sadly Harper had to admit that Snape was right in any normal situation. Snape didn't know that destiny decreed that Harry Potter have a showdown with a troll on Halloween. There was no way she could justify her actions. So she didn't even try. "I understand, sir."

"I don't think you do. If you belonged to any other house, I would press for you to be expelled and your wand snapped. You acted like a Gryffindor, leaping into danger without looking. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Gryffindors don't know the difference and neither did you. I expect my snakes to be smart, Potter. Do not fail me again."

It was hard to take the lecture personally, since she knew it was coming and it was in some strange way deserved. Practicing her occlumency (what little she knew of it) may have helped some as well. She knew what Snape wanted, so she gave him a promise she knew she couldn't keep. "I won't fail you again, sir."

Snape snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it, Potter. Now as for the punishment for you foolishness: three detentions, one for each person you put at risk. I'm also giving twenty points to Slytherin House. Don't construe that as a reward for your foolishness. I'm merely taking advantage of an opportunity to advance Slytherin in the standings."

Harper nodded. She'd gotten off better than she'd hoped. Time to throw a spanner in the works and really confuse him. "Sir, I noticed you've been harder on me in class and I wanted to thank you for it. I understand what you were trying to tell me the first day. Fame and celebrity won't give me skill, but people are going to expect more from me. I want to thank you for holding me to a higher standard."

For a moment Snape looked nonplussed, and then to her surprised he chuckled. "How very Slytherin of you, Potter. Did you think that would make me ease up? I'll give you just what you ask for. You will be held to a higher standard in my classes."

"Thank you, sir." Well, that had certainly backfired.

Snape laughed. "I'll be sure to give you plenty to thank me for. Now, as for your detentions. Today is a holiday, so I cannot force you to serve your detentions today. However, it is early in the day still. You could use this as an opportunity to serve two of them back-to-back."

Harper knew good and well that exercising her 'right' to a holiday and postponing would only make her detentions worse. "I'd like to get started on them and get them done."

"Very well, there are some cauldrons in the corner. Scrub them out without using a wand. You'll find the cleaners you need in the supply room. I expect a superior job. I must hold you to a higher standard, after all."

Harper rolled up her sleeves and went to work. Scubbing cauldrons proved to be hard work. She wore her dragon-hide gloves to protect herself from potion residues, but some of them foamed up when she added soap and water. Others had sticky gunk on them that didn't want to come out. She toiled for hours until the ringing of the school bells announced lunch time.

Snape looked up from his pile of grading. "That's one detention served, Potter. Go eat. I'll expect you back afterwards for your second."

Harper hurried off to the Great Hall. Most people were already eating. She sat down by Theo and Blaise. "Hello, everyone. Have a good Halloween?"

"Tell us about the troll! Greenglass isn't talking, and Davis doesn't have the details!"

"Well aren't you full of beans this morning? Did you skip jogging?" She was teasing him, but knew she couldn't postpone him long. "There's not much to tell. I burned it with _Incendio_. It's clothes caught fire, then it ran around a lot and got stuck in the stalls. That's about it."

"Bollocks. You're not getting off that easy. Tell me the real story."

Harper ended up telling the story more than once. The other Slytherins kept pressing around and asking for more details. She was barely able to eat. She tried to focus on the gore of the fight, of the troll bellowing and screaming. She had to give them more details, but she still played it down. In the official version of the story, she and Tracey had found the troll due to dumb luck. Her victory was much the same. She'd set its clothes aflame and that had done the rest. The discussion and probing for details lasted throughout lunch.

"What a wonderful story, Potty," sneered Malfoy as the class ended. "You know what I think is the best part? You killed a troll, but I get the girl. Daphne, sweetums, I see that you're done eating. Why don't I escort you on a walk around the grounds?"

Daphne shot Malfoy a look that went beyond ice princess to arctic chill. "I'd rather kiss the troll. It smelled better." She got up and without a glance at anyone walked out the Great Hall.

Tracey got up and walked after her. Milicent followed a long. Pansy paused as she went by. "Well if she won't kiss you, I will!" Before Harper could dodge, Pansy had planted a smooch on her cheek. "Bye, Harry." Pansy sped off in a hurry to catch the rest of the Slytherin girl herd.

Apparently Pansy's actions threw Malfoy off as well, because it wasn't until she hurried off that he started yelling at the girls walking away. "Daphne! My father will hear of this! You cannot insult a Malfoy and just walk away."

Theo laughed loudly. "Actually, Malfoy, she just did. Give it a little thought and I'm sure you'll figure out why."

Malfoy whirled on Theo. "Shut it, Nott. She'll change her tune when my father hears of this. I think I'll send an owl right away."

Harper had to stifle her laughter as Malfoy walked away. He was not going to be happy to find out that the not quite a betrothal was off. Not quite as good as Draco the bouncing ferret, but still a good memory.

Theo grinned at her. "I think the Malfoys are starting to get a little inbred. Draco isn't at all what I expected from a Malfoy. So… life debt. That's wicked. You know that you basically own Greenglass now, don't you?"

"People don't own people," Harper replied.

"Sure they do," replied Blaise. "Leverage, blackmail, coercion and patronage, there are all sorts of ways to exert ownership and control."

The scary thing was that Harper was pretty sure Blaise wasn't joking. "It's not like that. We're going to work on being friends first. After that, we'll see. I'm not going to force anything on her."

Blaise laughed. "You say that now, but we're young. Wait until you're older. She's a nice pureblood girl who can't tell you no. That might not seem so bad in a few years."

She so did not need this. Regardless of what Daphne with her life debt and Pansy with her crush thought, Harper knew she was a girl on the inside. She didn't need anyone pushing her into any kind of relationship. "Did you listen? I'm not interested. I would like to get to know Daphne better, but as _friends_. Nothing more."

Theo didn't seem to be listening at all. "Oh, I know what you should do. Girls love music. Gramophones are rare, and some of that muggle stuff you've got is really cool. You should invite her to come listen."

"Oh my God." If she didn't wear glasses, she'd bury her face in her hands. "You did not just suggest that I ask Daphne to come up and check out my record collection!"


	25. Chapter 25 - Ripples

**Ripples**

Harper was jolted awake by the alarm on her bed. The awakening charm was annoying, but more effective than any alarm clock she'd ever owned. She'd ended up staying late into the night to work off all three detentions with Snape. Theo and her were both silent while they got their work-out kits together and slipped out of the castle. As soon as they were alone Theo asked the question she had been expecting. "So, how did you know about Daphne and the troll?"

"The short answer, I had a dream. I'll tell you more after we work out. Daphne and Tracey are going to meet us after we're done jogging."

"A dream? Very interesting. I wonder if you have a bit of seer in you, Harry. I've checked your star chart. It is hard to interpret without your rising sign. I really wish that you knew the hour of your birth and not just the day."

This wasn't the first time Theo had made that comment. "What can I say, my parents are dead. I'll try to get ahold of my muggle birth certificate, but don't hold your breath. Come on, let's stretch."

She was really proud of Theo's progress in jogging. At first he'd tired quickly, but now he was almost keeping up with her. She really had to get a muggle exercise book so they could exercise right. After jogging out away from school, they switched to dueling. Theo became the master and she the student. She really didn't know why Theo was so jittery. He had taught her so much, not just hexes, but blocking and chaining and staying in motion. Theo usually won, but she was getting better. They went seven rounds and Theo won four to her three. Afterwards, they jogged back and showered.

The girls were waiting when they got out. Bows and curtsies were exchanged. These were the usual minimal greetings, except for when Daphne. When Daphne curtsied to Harper she went deeper. "Good morn', Mister Potter."

Tracey ignored her friend's display. "We're going to have to get up and watch what you're doing in the mornings some day. There are all sorts of rumors flying around and some of them aren't very nice."

Harper wasn't too happy to hear about the rumors and had a good idea they went back to Malfoy. He bowed to the girls. "I've never made a secret that we're jogging around the lake. Instead of just watching us, why don't you join us some time?"

Tracey laughed. "Don't be silly. We're girls. Muscles are fine for boys, but even muggle girls wouldn't be silly enough to go running around some lake early in the morning."

"I think you would be surprised what muggle girls do, Tracey. They do practically everything muggle boys do, including sports." Granted sports might be the one place where boys and girls couldn't compete equally on the same playing field, but that was beside the point. Girls can and did excel at sports. "They even marry whoever they want to marry, not who their families tell them to marry."

"My family has promised me a voice in the decision. We're not as backward as some. Besides, you're hardly one to talk. You're practically betrothed to Daphne."

"As fascinating as this conversation is," interrupted Theo. "Can we please have it later? We're having this meeting in private for a reason. I want to know more about how Harry knew that Daphne was in danger."

So Harper launched into her spiel of how it had been a dream. She made it out that she had them all the time, but rarely remembered the details upon waking. It wasn't until things were just about to happen that she'd be struck by a feeling of déjà vu and remember a fragment of a dream… "Like this time. I noticed Daphne was missing. That's when I suddenly remembered a dream about a troll, a girl and that particular bathroom."

"Mr. Potter," said Daphne. "I spent some time in the library yesterday while you were serving your detention. I found a book on Oneiromancy, divination by dreams. It is one of the oldest forms of divination. I think you're a Dream Seer and you need to read the book."

Harper put on her thank-you smile, the one she'd learned when someone gave the poor sick girl with cancer an expensive gift that she didn't need. In truth, she'd already read it cover to cover. That's how she came up with fib about her dream, but she had to pretend to be grateful. "Thank you, Daphne, I'll be glad to read it, but more importantly I want to keep this secret. Can I count on the three of you to keep this quiet."

"Of course," agreed Theo.

"Your secrets are my secrets, Mr. Potter." Daphne curtsied again.

"I'll keep my mouth shut." Tracey smirked. "But it's a favor. Someday I may just call it in."

Harper wasn't happy with Tracey's response, but what could she do? It at least gave her a fallback position in case she accidently let slip anything else from the books. One thing down, and another to address. "Daphne, I know it is almost time for breakfast, but would you walk with me for a bit?"

"I would, Mr. Potter, but I must be properly chaperoned."

"Really? Theo, Tracey, could the two of you follow a little ways behind us?"

Tracey looked Theo up and down. "The things I do for friendship. Fine."

"Hey," said Theo with the air of one who had been insulted. "Maybe, I don't want to double with you."

Double? "This is not a date! We're just walking and talking. That's it." She walked off rapidly and then slowed to let Daphne catch up. "I just wanted us to talk, to try to become friends. Do we really have to do the chaperone thing?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. I really am, but my family keeps the old customs. Not even all pureblood families observe them any longer, but we're just as old as you Potters." She shifted her tone, a bit of what Harper thought of as the real Daphne peeked through. "Were you serious before? Do muggle girls really go running?"

Really? Was she that clueless? "They really do."

"What's it like growing up with muggles?"

That was a loaded question. If she told Daphne about how the Dursleys treated Harry Potter, then she would just be reinforcing Daphne's beliefs. If she told about her real family, then she was leaving herself wide open to be outed as Harper Potts.

"I don't want to talk about my muggle family." Harper started to ask Daphne about her home life, but that felt hypocritical. So she needed to change the subject. "What's your favorite class?"

"My favorite topic is potions, but Snape is far from my favorite teacher. I think professor Sprout is the best teacher. She comes around and gives advice and actually teaches. Most of the other just stand in front and lecture. Fortunately Herbology and potions go together. So what do you like?"

"Dueling with Theo." She was surprised that was the truth. "I guess it would be Defense class, if we actually had a competent DADA instructor."

Daphne smiled a little. "Yes, Quirrell is pretty useless, isn't he? Is that what you want to do after Hogwarts? Be an auror or a curse-breaker?"

"Maybe. I've thought about it. I've also thought about politics. I'm not going to say the muggle world is perfect — it isn't. However, there are many things about the magical world that need changing. Like the way you're being treated. Arraigned marriages, especially sealed with magical contracts, feels a lot like slavery to me." He glanced over to Daphne watching her face for any reaction.

Daphne's face revealed nothing. The ice princess was in control. "If you want to do well in politics, Mr. Potter… you'll want a wife from one of the old noble families."

"I intend to marry someone I love, Daphne." She wanted the strong and handsome hero to sweep her off her feet. She didn't want to be the hero. "What do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

She shrugged. "I know what I will do. I'll tend a manor, host parties, do social events, have children and raise them. Want isn't part of it. I have a duty and obligation to my family to fulfill."

Harper stopped. "Daphne, you don't have to do that any longer. I'll help you find someone you like. Apparently this life debt allows me to help you that way. You can have a career and a life. You don't have to be just a wife and a mother."

Daphne's ice queen cracked a moment to show some powerful emotion, but the mask was right back in place. "I have a duty to my family. I will honor my life debt to you, Mr. Potter, but I will not forget my family. This has been a pleasant walk. We should do this again sometime, but I would like to eat now."

"Of course, we'll head back." What exactly had happened? Daphne had acted like a house elf, like she didn't want to be free, but she'd been grateful to be rid of Malfoy. It didn't make sense. As they walked back Harper tried to think of ways to mend whatever damage she'd done. Then she realized that perhaps the best move was simply to just let the ice princess be.

Daphne Greenglass was just one more thing she had to deal and she was far from the most important thing. In fact she wondered if she was setting her priorities correctly. Certainly studying and practicing was important. She needed to build herself up to be a strong and competent wizard, but was she letting herself get lost in being a student of magic and forgetting what was really at stake?

Her long-term goal was curing cancer, but Voldemort had to be defeated first. It was November and she hadn't made a move against him yet or tried to get the stone. She'd thought of giving him a hug or yanking off his turban in the Great Hall, but those plans could go wrong in so many ways. She also had to get the stone. She simply didn't trust Dumbledore's protections. In the books the Mirror of Erised had stumped Quirrellmort for a little while, but given more time he might have found a brute force approach to bypass it. If Quirrellmort got his hands on the stone, she could be facing a restored Voldemort at the end of book one. She simply wasn't ready to face that. So she needed to do two things: kill Quirrellmort and get the stone.

Really she needed to do three things. She also needed to catch Peter Pettigrew. Every day that passed was another day that Sirius Black spent in Azkaban. Every single day she hesitated an innocent man was tortured by dementors. It hurt her to even think about that. She'd thought of going to Dumbledore, but he was the man who ordered Sirius to hide and done nothing to clear his name. She didn't trust Dumbledore and she didn't know who else to trust. The problem of being stuck in an eleven-year old body was that adults treated her like a young child. If she just told people that Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, was really Peter Pettigrew, they wouldn't take her seriously enough. Pettigrew would escape and Sirius would remain imprisoned in Azkaban. She needed proof. That meant mastering two spells, the stunning spell to catch him and the impenetrable charm to enchant a cage so he couldn't transform and escape. She could manage a _Stupefy_ now, but it only had the strength of a strong punch. It couldn't knock out an adult. The impenetrable charm required more finesse than strength, yet she couldn't manage it either. She knew that strength and skill would both come with practice, but time was not her friend.

All her long range plans came back to where she started. She needed to study and practice and get better at magic. At first that had been easy. Learning magic had been fun. Now it was becoming work, but she had an idea how to make it more fun, and she'd already made the first step with Flitwick — restart the dueling club at Hogwarts.

Really any kind of magical practice helped strengthen a young wizard's magical core and build their power, but to build control required practicing finesse. It was like the difference between building strength and fine motor skills. Harper found it ironic that one of the best forms of magical exercise was broom riding. A broom wasn't like a motorcycle, it was more like a bicycle. The power came from the wizard riding it. The broom was just a multiplier. Forcing a broom to go faster took power. Making it twist and turn took control. Sadly, she hadn't inherited the original Harry's knack for broom riding. She still took her flying lessons. Broom riding was an important skill she intended to master, but it didn't come naturally to her. It was work for her, not fun. However, she had discovered that she actually enjoyed dueling. She hadn't expected to like fighting with magic. It had started as just a critical skill to be learned, but it was like running — it made her feel alive. Probably it had something to do with the fact she was in a boy's body and had testosterone running through her system, but it was still fun. She needed more fun in her life. One of her resolutions was not forgetting to live.

Besides there was another good reason. Not only would it help her her prepare to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but it would help every Hogwarts student who joined the dueling club become more prepared as well. Although she probably wouldn't see the results for years, she hoped it would be like throwing a stone into a pond and the ripples would help years from now when Voldemort returned.

It was with that in mind that she decided to take the next step. Facing Quirrell was a big risk. While he did an excellent job of playing a buffoon, she knew that Voldemort was growing out of the back of his head and that scared her socks off. However, neither of them had done much yet except release the troll. So she did her best to focus on her breathing and keep her mind blank as she walked up to Professor Quirrell as a DADA class. She glanced at Theo to make sure he was with her and he returned her nervous smile.

"P-P-Potter and N-Nott, how c-can I help you b-boys?" Quirrell gave a nervous smile.

Breathe in. Breathe out. "It's about a dueling club, sir. Theo and I have reviewed the school rules and the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is the responsible faculty sponsor for the dueling club. There hasn't been a meeting in some time. We were hoping that you could start the club back up, sir."

"I-I-I don't k-know. I-I-I have so m-many things to d-do." He paused. "Y-yes, so m-many things to d-do." Quirrell's eyes met hers.

She looked down, not wanting to give him eye contact. She didn't feel a shooting pain through her scar, but she still focused on her meditation. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Sir," said Theo respectfully. "I did some checking and you were ranked third overall in Hogwarts in the dueling club yourself during your seventh year. So I know you must be a great duelist yourself. Surely you want us to be able to follow a fine Hogwarts tradition."

"W-w-well, I s-suppose that is t-true, b-but it still a d-drain on m-my t-time."

Her turn to speak. "We've spoken with Professor Flitwick, sir. He's agreed to co-sponsor with you and we'll put together a student group to run it. We were planning to ask the sixth year prefects as they don't have O.W.L.S. or N.E.W.T.S."

"G-g-given it s-some thought, h-have you, b-boys? I st-still c-can't…" Quirrell's eyes lost focus for a moment and then he gave his head a shake. "Yes. My answer is… y-yes. Y-you g-get the pr-prefects and Fl-flitwick and we c-can have a m-meeting."

"Thank you for your time, sir. We'll be in touch when we have their agreement." She beat a hasty retreat. She wondered if she had miscalculated. Quirrell had been going to say no, then he suddenly changed his mind. If Lord Voldemort thought it was a good idea, then something had to be wrong. Yet, she saw so many positives that she just couldn't walk away.

Getting Quirrell's and Flitwick's approval turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. There were old records to go through and procedures to read. There were established rulebooks governing what spells could be cast and what were forbidden. The disbanded Hogwarts Dueling Club had a thick book of bylaws of its own which governed how it operated.

Plus she had to get members. She did that by approaching the heads of the houses. Snape was only moderately rude and gave his blessing. Flitwick was already on board, and Professor Sprout proved to be very supportive of restoring an ancient Hogwarts tradition. McGonagall was prickly to deal with, but agreed in the end. Then she had to talk to the prefects, get their buy-in and post notices and reserve space. She really hoped to turn the running of the reformed Hogwarts Dueling Club over to the sixth year prefects eventually, but for at least these initial stages she was the driving force with Theo backing her up. After a lot of back and forth the first meeting was finally scheduled. The grand reopening of the restored Hogwarts Dueling Club was set for Sunday following the first Quidditch game of the season: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.


	26. Chapter 26 - Dueling Club

**A/N: ** I'm moving a little more AU with this chapter. I'm not really flat-out contradicting cannon, but certainly stretching it a good deal. It seems improbable that the wizarding world only has one sport, Quidditch, and three games: gobstones, exploding snap, and losing at wizard's chess to Ron Weasley. My portrayal of a dueling as a sport almost as big as Quidditch is a bit of a stretch, but it fits within the way societies worked. Every society that had an armed adult population had competions of arms. That's how sports like fencing and jousting were born. Regardless, I wanted to take a different direction and give Harper a sport that wasn't Quidditch. Dueling is going to be her sport, one that she has some talent at, but will need to develop.

* * *

**Dueling Club**

Harper felt nervous about the first Quidditch game of the season. After all, that was the game where Harry Potter proved his abilities as a seeker and caught the snitch in his mouth. It was also the game where Quirrell tried to kill the Harry in the story by jinxing his broom. Since she wasn't competing, she hoped that Quirrellmort wouldn't make an attempt on her life, but she couldn't be sure. History had a habit of repeating itself. However, that wasn't her only problem with the Quidditch game.

"What did you just say?" Harper asked Daphne in disbelief. She kept her voice low and glanced around the Slytherin common room. While no one was obviously eavesdropping, they weren't exactly private.

"When will you be escorting me to the Quidditch match, Mr. Potter?" She said it like it was a perfectly reasonable request then she added the curtsey she did to him alone.

"Daphne, I think you misunderstand our relationship. We don't have one. We're not dating. We're not even really friends. We've had maybe three real conversations, but those were pretty awkward and shallow. Theo is my friend. Hermione is my friend. Blaise is my friend." Alright that last one might be an untruth. Blaise was an ally who believed it was in his own best interest to be friendly. Harper was pretty sure that Blaise only had one true friend — Blaise. "I think that I'm even starting to be friends with Tracey. She actually talks to me like a person." Harper hadn't meant to give a lecture, but the way Daphne kept trying to jump right into a dating relationship annoyed her.

"How else am I supposed to get to know you if you never talk to me? You're always so busy. You get up before the sun for your muggle ritual with Theo. When you aren't busy studying with that Granger girl, you're practicing. You're always practicing and working ahead. Then you spend all this time talking to heads of houses, prefects and everyone about a dueling club. Bully for you, but ask your mirror why we don't have real conversations."

Harper scowled and glanced about. Pansy hurriedly looked away. Tracey was watching them with interest. Millie… was either very good at pretending not to listen or was actually reading the book she was holding. "How do you expect us to have real conversations when we're never alone?"

"That doesn't stop you with Theo or the Granger girl does it?"

"It's not the same. Theo and I do have private conversations…" However, even when they did their conversations usually weren't so deep. Harper's friendship with Theo had started with humor and grown from there. In a way Theo was her Ron. She could ask him things about the magical world and they'd discuss it. Lately their conversations had been really focused on dueling. It was a passion they shared.

"… Granger and I talk mostly about studies…" She shared a different passion with Hermione: a love of knowledge and learning. Hermione was so bloody bright it was scary. She had practically memorized all their textbooks. Besides, they complimented each other well. While Hermione was way ahead on theory, Harper was way ahead on practice. They didn't always mesh. Hermione could be annoying literal and thick about some things which had led to some spirited debates. Those debates usually ended up with them meeting somewhere in the middle, but not always. Sometimes Hermione agreed she was wrong, sometimes Harper had to concede to Hermione, and sometimes they just had to politely disagree. Regardless, studying with Hermione kept magic fun while pushing her to excel. Harper had learned more magic from Hermione than any of her teachers, and it just plain wasn't as much fun studying alone.

Daphne Greenglass was a different fish altogether. She seemed to unerringly home in on the exact things that Harper couldn't talk about: her childhood, her true feelings, as well as her plans and ambitions. Daphne dug for Harper's secrets like a niffler after treasure, secrets that Harper had no intention of sharing. Besides, one of those many secrets was that she was actually a girl, so that her 'relationship' with Daphne had no future. She was more likely to have a relationship with Theo… maybe not, he was like a brother. Not Blaise either. Blaise had all the makings of being that bad boy that every girl wanted, but was best avoided unless you wanted to be the flavor of the week. She had time to work out boys later, when she was older and back to being a girl. However, despite what Daphne might think, they had no chance of a future together. "… but you want to ask girlfriend questions."

"Girlfriend questions? I'm trying to get to know you. You're not the open book you pretend to be, Mr. Potter."

Danger. Warning. Deflect. "And you're not the ice princess persona that you present to the world, Daphne."

"Ice princess? Is that what you think I am?"

"Aren't you? Cold, aloof, and distant. You're a little too young to be an ice queen yet. You need to grow a few curves first and crush the hearts of a few young boys."

Tracey snickered proving that this wasn't a private conversation at all.

Daphne expression went full ice princess. "I'm not trying to crush your heart, Mr. Potter. Be careful with mine. You hold my future in your hands."

Once again she played the life debt card. Unfortunately that card seemed to be infinitely reusable. She was trying to be careful with Daphne. Being careful meant not letting the poor girl think they had a romantic future when they didn't. "I'm trying, Daphne, I really am. It would help if you would stop trying to plan our future. Look, I'm going to the Quidditch match with Theo. If you want to go with Tracey, maybe we could sit together and cheer on Slytherin. I wouldn't be escorting you, but we'd still be spending time together."

She curtsied. "That is acceptable, Mr. Potter." She walked away to join the other three girls who started giggling and whispering. No doubt they were dissecting every word of that conversation.

Harper knew she really needed to work out a better strategy for dealing with Daphne, preferably before visiting the Greenglass home during winter break, but that was way down on her priority list.

The Quidditch game turned out to be a lot more interesting than Harper expected. When she had first read the books, she'd cheered Harry's victory. It hadn't been until she grew up some that she realized that Quidditch was a silly game. The chasers, beaters and keeper all made sense. That part of Quidditch was similar to football, basketball, hockey or any other get the ball past the defense and into the goal type game. The problem was the one hundred and fifty points for catching the snitch. That made the rest of the game irrelevant. However, Harper had discovered that was another point of departure from the books. In the world she lived in catching the snitch was only worth fifty points. Also the snitch itself was different. It was even harder to catch, but not as hard to see. It left a glowing trail behind it like a tiny comet. The result was a vastly different game.

The most amazing thing about it was the speed. Harper had finally graduated from Madame Hooch's basic flying class, but she couldn't coax a broom into anything approaching the speeds she was seeing. Plus the game never stopped. If she kept her eye on the quaffle, she could just follow the change of possession from chaser to chaser to chaser to goal attempt. However, she couldn't follow that, the two bludgers, and the insane maniacs spiraling after the trail of the golden snitch. Plus the key position wasn't the seeker at all, it was the beaters. Dodging a bludger took dramatic evasive action. The little homing missiles knocked players painfully off their brooms all the time. They didn't break bones, and the dismounted players floated slowly to ground. Half of the penalty was the length of time it took a dismounted player to float down, get back on their broom and get back into play. The strategy element came into play with how the beaters had to split time between attacking the chasers and the seeker. Attacking the seeker was smart, because the fifty points for catching the snitch was a big chunk of points, but that was balanced by the need to keep pressure on the seekers.

Gryffindor put up a much better fight that Harper expected. She'd thought that without Harry Potter on the Gryffindor team that Slytherin would win easily. She hadn't counted on the Weasley twins. Fred and George worked great precision and almost perfect unison. They disrupted play after play, but the Slytherins won the day in end, catching the snitch for a 210 to 180 victory. She was surprised to see some of the normally reserved purebloods smooching in celebration of the victory. It was mostly the sixth and seventh year couples that were known to be dating or even betrothed, but Harper hadn't realized that you were supposed to kiss your boyfriend/girlfriend after winning a Quidditch game. Thankfully Daphne didn't seem to have any ideas along that line. Maybe she was finally getting the message.

After the game there was a victory celebration in the Slytherin commons. Someone had done some pretty impressive illusion work. The ceiling featured a large serpent that continually chased a cowardly lion. When the serpent caught the lion it would swallow it whole and let out an audible belch. After that the illusion would reset and play again. Someone had scored some butter beer and there was a punch that was apparently spiked with some kind of mood elevating potion.

As interesting as the Quidditch game had been for Harper it was just a warm-up for the reopening of the Hogwarts Dueling Club. As soon as lunch was over, the Great Hall was cleared and rearranged for the occasion. Harper did a quick head count and was pleased to see that about a large turnout with all four houses and all seven years well-represented.

Quirrell stood up. "W-w-welcome to the H-Hogwarts D-Dueling C-club. I-I-I w-would l-like to th-thank all of y-you. F-for b-being h-here t-today. P-p-profressor F-Flitwick, p-please."

Flitwick climbed up series of steps to a raised podium. "Thank you all. It gives me great pleasure to see the Hogwarts Dueling Club reopened. Dueling is a wizarding tradition going back thousands of years and is still used to solve disputes among adult wizards today. The sport of dueling is very formalized and you will all be held accountable to holding the rules. Each of you will read and sign the rules before you are allowed to participate in any duels. This is not a binding magical contract, but you will follow the code of conduct or you will not be allowed to participate. While the rules are rather lengthy, the first step will be assigning you to rungs on the Dueling Ladder. There are three rungs."

"The bronze rung is for beginning duelists. Participants are limited to spells that cannot cause lasting harm. That means that dueling is limited to minor hexes and jinxes of short duration or that can be easily removed with a counterspell. Most of you will start in the bronze ring, which makes you knutters."

"The silver rung is for intermediate duelists. More damaging spells are allowed. If you do not know how to block, counter and dodge properly you can end up in the hospital wing. In order to qualify for the silver ring, you must demonstrate to the satisfaction of myself or Professor Quirrell that you have mastered the Shield Charm and four elemental counters. With the approval of the Headmaster, we will allow those in the silver run to engage in ranked matches. Every victory in a ranked match will gain House Points for the victor. Those in the silver rung are often called scythers."

"Lastly, there is the gold rung. No one will be admitted to the gold rung this year. The students placed in the top three ranks of each house may petition to join the top rung. They must receive a sign-off from both a faculty sponsor and their parents or guardians. The golden rung follows the same code as 'polite' dueling among adults, which allows most spells that aren't flat out lethal. It is also the same code of combat used by professional duelists in the Class A dueling circuit. Students who reach the gold rung are eligible to represent Hogwarts in international completion with other schools of magic. Those proud few who achieve this level of mastery are commonly called dragons."

Harper knew all this from talking with Theo and reading up on it, but she could tell that it was news to some of the students. While representing Hogwarts in the Interschool Dueling Circuit didn't have quite the same prestige as winning the Tri-Wizard tournament, it was still a big deal. However, it wasn't quite as big a deal as it might be in the books. There were other wizards sports and games beyond Quidditch, wizard chess, and gobstones. The Hogwarts broom racing team had just returned from competing at Beauxbatons. Quodpot, the American version of Quidditch had a small following. There was an annual Wardsmash completion between houses where teams competed by first building up wards around a base and then racing to see who could tear the other's down fastest. McGonagall sponsored the Transmudo team, which competed in a series of transmutations judged on both form and speed. There were also magical arts: wand chorus, spellsinging, illusion crafting and others. Quidditch was still the wizarding sport, but there were a lot of other choices.

"… So all of those who still want to participate form a line. You need to all pick up the rule book and sign the membership forms. After that those who wish to try out for silver rung need to line up to be evaluated by myself or Professor Quirrell. The rest of you may seek out your prefects by house. They'll go over the protocols for copper rung dueling and possibly even allow a few duels."

All in all it was a lot more organized than when Lockhart had been running things in the books. The credit obviously went to Flitwick. Quirrellmort pretty much let him and the prefects run things. Harper was unsurprised to see Gemma Farley was the prefect running things for Slytherin. "Theo, Potter, I know you two helped start this going. Theo, go over protocols with the second years. Potter, you do the same with the first years."

Theo took off and Harper found herself facing most of the Slytherin first years: Draco and his henchgoons, Blaise, Tracey and Daphne. Theo was helping the second years so only Millie and Pansy weren't participating and Pansy was in the audience. "Allright, Flitwick already gave the rules. We're all knutters, so that means mostly hexes and jinxes. Nothing that could cause damage. Also no fisticuffs, meaning no bodily contact. Each person starts on their mark. Wait until the judge says 'bow', then either bow or curtsey to your opponent. Then the duel is on."

"What about taking their wand out of their hand if they are incapacitated?" asked Tracey.

"Good question," replied Harper. "If you have your opponent incapacitated then you need to use a spell to disarm them. You are not allowed to leave your ring. If you do you'll receive a warning from the judge. Three warnings and you lose. There are two spells you really need to learn in bronze rung. _Protego_ will shield against most spells allowed in the bronze rung. The Disarming Spell, _Expelliarmus_, is the other." Harper noticed that Theo was apparently ahead of her. He had the second years already practicing on each other. "I'm going to go over the rules again real fast. Then we can do like the second years are doing, divide into pairs and practice _Expelliarmus_ versus _Protego_."

Harper set up Draco vs. Blaise, Crabbe vs. Goyle, and Tracey vs. Daphne and had them start practicing. She had been expecting to see Blaise easily disarm Malfoy, but surprisingly Draco could manage a weak shield. Crabbe and Goyle were both struggling to master the spells. Daphne dodged the Disarming spell that Tracey sent her way.

"Dapne, that would be a good move in a duel, but the point is for the defender to practice their Shield Charm."

She gave him the annoying curtsey again. "Sorry, Mr. Potter."

"Th-think y-you c-can d-do b-b-better, P-Potter?" asked Quirrell.

Harper was a bit unnerved that Quirrellmort had snuck up on her without her realizing he was there. "I was following instructions from our prefect, sir." What did Quirrell want? He had seemed content to let Flitwick run the club. Why was he here taking a personal interest?

"B-but c-can y-you d-d-do b-better, P-Potter?"

Harper nodded. "I can manage to create a shield, sir." It wasn't a strong shield. In fact any good hex would probably smash it, but she had managed it and was proud of that fact.

"G-good. W-why d-d-don't you d-demonstrate?"

This couldn't be good, but Quirrell was a professor and the club sponsor. She had no legitimate reason to refuse and doing so would be suspicious. "Of course, sir." Harper moved to take Daphne's place at the mark.

"G-g-good. J-just the sh-shield charm, P-P-Potter. M-mister M-malfoy, w-w-would y-you attack?"

Draco walked up smiling a broad smile. "I'll be glad to, Professor." He bowed.

Harper bowed and immediately cast the Shield Charm, "_Protego!_"

Draco was doing a complicated triple swish with his wand, "_Serpensortia_!" The snake that flew out of Malfoy's wand was three foot long and dark green. It advanced angrily and as it did the hood around its head flared out — cobra. As it came toward her it hissed at her, "_Kill_."

"_Stop! Don't hurt me!_" The words that left her mouth weren't English. They came out as sibilant hissing noises.

The snake stopped and the lowered to the ground. "_Sorry, Speaker._" Something about the voice said feminine.

Harper looked up in the sudden silence. She'd been worried about the first Quidditch match and an attempt on her life. She'd entirely forgotten about what happened at the first dueling club meeting and now history had repeated itself. A short distance away people were going about their duels and chatting, but all the Slytherins in her first year had heard her.

So had Quirrell. The look on his face was startled and calculating. "You're a parselmouth… P-P-Potter." The fake Quirrell mask slid back in place. "C-c-call it to y-you."

Crap. Oh crap. "_Come, here. I'll take care of you_," she hissed. Harper knew her cover was blown. Everyone closeby was staring, but worse… The first thing Voldemort would do as soon as he was unobserved was check the Chamber of Secrets. That's where she'd left the destroyed horcrux that had once been the Diadem of Ravenclaw, because it had been coated in basilisk venom. When Voldemort found it, he'd know that she had destroyed a horcrux… and he would move all the others. He would probably also want to question her as to what she knew.

She had to go. She had to go now. "_Come here._" She called to the snake and walked to meet it. "_Can I hold you?_"

"_Yes, speaker. Where am I_?"

She reached down to pick up the cobra and instead it slithered up her arm. She wasn't particularly afraid of snakes, but she'd never held one before either, especially not one that was venomous. "_You're at Hogwarts. I'll help you._"

She looked toward Quirrell, but deliberately avoided looking him in the eye. "Professor, I think I'd better get this little girl someplace safe where she won't hurt herself or anyone. I think I'll start with Professor Kettleburn."

"Qu-qu-quite s-so, M-m-mister P-potter." The stutter was back, but it didn't sound so bumbling any longer. In fact Quirrell managed to make the stutter sound like a threat.

Other people were noticing now and moving over. The Slytherin's were whispering, "Did you know?" "No." "Explains why Harry Potter is in Slytherin." "My father…"

Harper left the Great Hall with the cobra wrapped around her arm. She moved as fast as she could walk without breaking into a jog.


	27. Chapter 27 - Myrtle

**Myrtle**

Harper's was half-way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets when she realized she was in deeper trouble than she thought. The remnants of the destroyed horcrux were bad enough, but worse there was the basilisk itself. All Voldemort had to do was ask it and the giant snake would tell him all about the boy who had been down there and asked it to bite a tiara. If Voldemort found out his horcrux was destroyed with a basilisk right there under his command… He didn't like failure. What were the chances that he'd release the beast on the entire school? And if that wasn't bad enough, she'd even told the creature her _name_. The basilisk knew her as Harper Potts. She might have a high pain tolerance, but she had no desire to be a victim of the Cruciatus Curse while Voldemort ripped out her secrets. The basilisk had to die.

She wasn't about to pull the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat. She didn't trust Dumbledore and couldn't show him great loyalty, but the crow of a rooster would kill it. Hagrid had chickens. It was in Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort forced Ginny to slaughter Hagrid's chickens. She changed course and headed out to Hagrid's hut, then stopped again.

Broom. She had to have a broom to get out. The school brooms were locked up and she didn't have one of her own, but there had been more in the Room of Requirement. She changed course again and raced up the stairs heading to the seventh floor.

When she got there she paced back and forth thinking about lost brooms. The room opened and inside she found that it had worked. Instead of a room full of every kind of junk there was only an empty room full of brooms. About half of them were obviously damaged: handles snapped or splintered, bristles tattered and falling out, and two of them were burnt. She ignored those and focused on those that looked more or less intact. Most of them were older and heavier models, but some were more modern. Two of them stood out and actually had names and models on them: a Nimbus 1600 and a Comet 190. If she actually knew something about brooms, she'd probably know which one was better. She decided that Harry rode a Nimbus so that was good enough for her. She stuffed it in her book bag worried that it was too long, but it fit.

Once she got outdoors and away from other students she pulled the broom back out, mounted it and lifted off. It performed about as well as any school broom she'd used, better than some and worse than others. Flying could potentially get her in trouble, but now that she was cleared for flying she could borrow a school broom if she asked. She hadn't done so, but no one would know that at a glance and getting busted for flying an unapproved broom was a small risk compared to what she needed to do. The important thing was that she could get her to Hagrid's hut faster by flying than running.

"_Speaker, why are we in the sky?_" asked the snake that was wrapped around her arm.

Right, and she had a cobra on her arm, as if she didn't have enough going on. "_I have something I must do. It's a matter of life and death._"

"_The other speaker told me there was one I must kill, but I was sent to you instead. Are you taking us to the one who must die?_"

What? Harper glanced down at the snake and started drifting off in the wrong direction. Hurriedly she adjusted her course. "_When did the other speaker talk with you?_"

"_Before. This one was thrown by magic to you. I thought you were the one, but you speak._"

Now she got it. _Serpentsortia_ was a summoning charm. It brought a snake from somewhere closeby. It didn't conjure it out of magic. So Voldemort had primed the cobra to kill her. Really was that a surprise? He was only one day late since he hadn't taken a shot at her during the Quidditch match. None of which got her the rooster she needed and she'd found Hagrid's hut. "_I'll explain later, it's complicated._"

Hagrid's hut wasn't too hard to find. Octavia had pointed it out during summer. She didn't see any sign of Hagrid when she arrived. He was the groundskeeper, which meant he did spend a lot of time walking the grounds. She circled his hut twice from the air and then landed by his chicken coop. It wasn't hard to pick out a rooster strutting around. She took aim with her wand and stunned the bird. Her _Stupefy_ spell might not take out Theo yet, but it worked just fine on a chicken. She stuffed the bird into her expandable bag. No doubt it would crap all over her books when it woke up, but tough. She heard a barking sound from Hagrid's hut and quickly mounted her borrowed broom and kicked off.

A short flight to the castle and she was landing at the steps. She was tempted to fly through the halls, but that would attract even more attention than running around with a cobra wrapped around her forearm. She shoved the broom back in her bag and hurried to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom at a fast walk. Ignoring the out-of-order sign, she walked straight through the door and almost ran through Myrtle.

The morose ghost looked more like the movie version than the book version. She wasn't chubby or pimply, but she was a little on the plain side with thick glasses that gave her a bookworm appearance. She turned to him and frowned. "What are you doing here? This is a _girl's_ bathroom. _You_ are not a girl."

The girl inside her body wanted to scream at the morose ghost. It didn't matter what her body was, she was a girl! However, she didn't have time to argue with Myrtle. Professor Quirrell was most likely tied up with the dueling club still, but he could be on his way at any time. "Hello, Myrtle, I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you."

"Oh, you're _that_ boy. I've heard about _you_. They all say that you aren't at all what they expected."

Interesting, but she had no time for idle gossip. Myrtle obviously wasn't going to go away any time soon. Harper had learned over the summer that ghosts are usually bored. They are used to being ignored, but they craved attention. Talking to one was rather like petting a puppy. Once you got their attention they were hard to get rid of. So… the only option Harper saw was recruiting Myrtle. That was risky. She had no idea if Myrtle could keep secrets, but most people ignored ghosts. Besides, given the alternative of getting caught in here by Voldemort, taking a chance on Myrtle was positively safe in comparison.

What she needed was to get on Myrtle's good side and fast. She knew just the question. "Myrtle, this is really important to me. Would you please tell me how you died?"

Myrtle's acted like Christmas had come early. She literally lit up, glowing brighter. "Ooooh, it was dreadful. It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying and then I heard someone come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then — " Myrtle's face almost seemed to sparkle. "I died."

This seemed to be working. "Did it hurt?"

"Not really. I remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body seized up and it hurt for just a moment, but then I was floating away…" Her eyes turned wistful. "And then I came back. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."

She definitely had Myrtle interested. Now to reel her in. "Do you know why you were killed?"

The ghost nodded sadly. "Because I was muggle-born. It seemed so important back then to some. When you're a ghost, it doesn't really matter what blood you had when you were alive."

"Myrtle, I don't know who told you that, but that's a lie. That's not why you were murdered."

"_Murdered_." The word almost seemed torn from Myrtle's lips and she gave a little shudder. Her ghost light flickered and grew stronger.

Harper found herself growing a little bit frightened of Myrtle. After she'd gotten over their initial appearance, the Hogwarts ghosts weren't really scary. Mostly they were odd, but Myrtle for the first time was acting like how a ghost should act. However, Harper pressed on. "The one who killed you didn't do it because you were muggle-born. He was a half-blood himself. He did it for another reason. He took your life for dark magic. I know who killed you, Myrtle. I know why. I know how. Would you like me to tell you?"

Myrtle flickered again and seemed to compact. Her form was growing more and more focused. "Who! Why! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" She reached out and grabbed.

Harper felt a chill pass through her as Myrtle tried to grab her shirt. That wasn't supposed to happen. She'd walked through ghosts and felt nothing. Ghosts couldn't affect the living. "It's a secret, but one you deserve to know. I want you to promise not to tell."

"Noooo," moaned Myrtle. "I will not be bound further! I do not need another shackle on my soul. Tell me what you know, Harry Potter! Who murdered me? Why? Telllll Meeeee!"

Harper was flying blind, but Myrtle's desperation was obvious. "The one who murdered you cheated death, Myrtle. Promise to keep my secrets so I can give him the final death."

"Yes! I, Myrtle Ophelia Klugg, do promise to keep the secrets of the wizard, Harry Potter, until the one who murdered me has left the mortal realm, or until the passing of Harry Potter. This I swear upon my grave."

The words seemed to roll outward beyond the dingy walls of the bathroom and Harper thought she heard the sound of a chain rattling. She was sickly aware that she was playing with magic that she didn't really understand.

"You wanted my oath, wizard." Moaning Myrtle looked ready to do murder herself. "Tell me now! Who! Whyyyy?!"

"You were killed by a fellow student, by the name of Tom Malvolo Riddle."

"The Slytherin prefect? Why? Why? Why!" She shoved Harper.

It wasn't strong, but Harper felt the push. "Not because you were muggle-born, not really. He was a half-blood himself. His father was a muggle. He did it as an act of magic, to make a dark artifact called a Horcrux to protect himself, your murder was a step in that ritual."

"More! Tell me all you know. You promised me."

"I don't know all the steps in the ritual. I don't know that I want to know, but they worked. He went on to do many more dark rituals and transformed himself into the dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort. He died, but his spirit did not pass on. He has come back to Hogwarts and I have to destroy the creature that killed you before he can set it free again."

"Oooh, the creature!" demanded Myrtle. "Tell me about the creature! I remember the eyes. We all heard of the thing in the Chamber of Secrets. What was it?"

"A basilisk, a powerful magical creature, a snake sixty foot long with poison fangs. Those who look into its eyes die. That's what killed you, Myrtle. I'm going to kill it. Would you like to help me?"

"Ohhhh, yes! Yes! Yes!" Myrtle flew about the room giggling in glee. "We're going to kill a snake. We're going to kill a snake. Dead. Dead. Dead."

This was a side of Myrtle that hadn't been depicted in the books. Harper looked down at the cobra still curled around her arm. It was a good thing that it didn't understand English. Gaining Myrtle as an ally was probably a good thing, but it had taken time. Harper walked over to the sink. "Myrtle! The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is here." Harper didn't bother to look at the image of a snake on the tap. She focused on the live cobra on her arm. "_Open_," she hissed in parseltongue.

As soon as she spoke, the tap begun to spin and emitted a bright, the sink rumbled and recessed and the opening was revealed.

"I heard this before. During the summer and before I died. You're spoke like my murderer did."

Harper nodded. "I spoke Parseltongue, snake language. This is the way to the Chamber of Secrets. Are you with me Myrtle?"

"Oh, yes! I want to see the creature that killed me."

* * *

**A/N:** It seems I receive some the most comments when characters are perceived to deviate from cannon. In my opinion many of the consistency issues in JKR's work come from her change in audience. She started writing books aimed at children and ended up with books aimed at the young adult market. I love the books individually. However, in my saga of Harper Potts, I've gone AU and tried to make the whole world a little more realistic. Competent!Ron who actually knew a few hexes and how to duck and dodge in a duel was one example. In Harper's universe most purebloods arrive at Hogwarts knowing some magic. Vengeful!Myrtle exists because ghosts in JKR's work were mostly played for comic relief. For Harper's world I wanted ghosts to act like spirits of the dead.


	28. Chapter 28 - Basilisk

Basilisk

"Lumos," commanded Harper. The light from her wand lit the rough-hewn cavern where she'd just slid out of the pipe like some great water (or more accurately slime) slide.

The cobra which she'd cradled in her arms for the descent suddenly started slithering away. "_Flee, flee, the Great One, the King of All Snakes, flee speaker, flee_."

Harper looked at the cobra as it slithered out of sight into some tiny crawlspace under the pipe. "_I know the basilisk is here. Why do you fear it?_"

"_It will EAT me! Like I eat lesser snakes. Stay away from it speaker._"

Harper could no longer see the cobra, but it sounded like it was just under the pipe. "_Stay here. You'll be safe here. It is too large to get at you. I'll be back soon._" She'd worry about it later after the basilisk was dead.

"_As you wish, speaker._"

Myrtle floated out of the pipe and looked around. "This is the Chamber of Secrets? I'd expected something more… intimidating. This looks like Og's den."

Harper used a dry spot on her robes to wipe away some of the slime covering her hands. "This is just the entrance. The chamber itself is more impressive." She headed toward the doors.

Myrtle trailed along behind her. "I suppose, you do have a plan for killing a basilisk, don't you? I'm just here to watch and cheer. I might be able to manage some maniacal laughter."

"Of course, I have a plan. I brought a rooster with me."

"A rooster?!"

"The crow of a rooster is fatal to a basilisk. I have one right here in my bag."

"I want the snake dead. I want it very, very, dead, but this is sounding like a cock-up." She laughed and flew around a bit. "Cock-up! Get it?"

Harper rolled her eyes. "Oh, very funny." They'd reached the locked door carved with serpents.

Myrtle giggled. "I haven't had this much fun since I crashed Castor Hornby's wedding, but it's your life. I'm just along for the fun. Say, if you die, I'll let you haunt my toilet with me! Even better we can track down my murderer and both haunt him."

"Thank you, Myrtle. I'll try not to die." She was oddly touched by Myrtle's offer, even though it sounded familiar. "Speaking of just along for the fun. I need your help. The gaze of a basilisk can hurt even a ghost and I need you to watch my back. If anyone else comes down here, fly in to warn me. Just be sure you have your eyes closed."

"I won't." Myrtle stomped her phantom feet ineffectually. It lost something when her feet sunk through the floor. "I want to see you kill it! I want to see it die!"

Harper turned to the petulant ghost. "Myrtle, do you want the snake or the boy who gave the order? That is who I want you to watch out for — Tom Riddle, the boy who killed you. If he catches me here, I'm dead. He doesn't look like he did. Tom died once, but he cheated. He's a spirit now, and possessing the body of an older man who always wears a turban.

"Skin riding? Oh, naughty, naughty Tommy. That's not allowed, but you're a sneaky snake bastard Tom Riddle. Murderer. Murderer. Yes! I'll keep a watch for him." She floated away backwards, still facing Harper. "But I get to see the snake after it is dead. I need to see it, Harry. I need it almost as much as I need to taste Riddle's life force ebb away as he dies. If the basilisk kills you, I won't let you forget it for the rest of your afterlife!" Myrtle floated back down the tunnel toward the entrance chamber.

Harper swallowed. Myrtle wasn't at all like the books. "Be careful, Myrtle. If he does show up, come warn me," she called to Myrtle's retreating form.

She wasn't at all sure that Myrtle had heard her, but the ghost was keeping watch. That was the important thing. She needed to focus on killing the basilisk. She turned to face the locked door with its carvings of serpents. Myrtle had a point. She was going to face a sixty foot snake with poisonous fangs and a lethal gaze armed with… a chicken. Still, that was better than Harry Potter had. He'd went into the Chamber of Secrets armed with nothing more than grit and determination. Much more was at stake than merely the life of Ginny Weasley. If Voldemort learned that she was destroying his horcruxes, he'd move them and she would never find them.

"_Open._" She whispered in Parseltongue. As the doors ground slowly open she closed her eyes and stepped through them.

"_Yesss, you return. Isss it time? Time to hunt? Time to kill?_" She could hear the slithering of its massive coils as it approached.

The basilisk was too close for her comfort. All she had to do was take out the chicken and cast _Reenervate_ to make it crow, but would the snake just sit there? "Not yet. Close your eyes, please."

"They are closssed, Harper Pottssss." It sounded so close.

She opened her eyes. The Chamber of Secrets wasn't dark. It must have been enchanted with everlasting lights when it was built, but the lighting wasn't that good. Still it was good enough to make out the massive snake that was right in front of her. The basilisk was a bright poisonous green and thick as the trunk of a tree. It was so close that it's flickering tongue was almost licking her. If it opened its eyes or bit her, she was dead. She needed to distract it somehow. "The last time you were free to hunt. You killed a girl. Why?"

The basilisk slithered about in a circle, staying close and focused on her. "The lassst ssspeaker, Voldemort, gave me leave to hunt and kill, but he didn't let me feed. He usssed the girl."

Used her? Oh, to make a horcrux. What exactly did he do to her body? Harper felt instinctively that she didn't really want to know. Something dark. She lowered her wand, holstered it, and reached into her bag and found the rooster. It pecked at her. So it was obviously awake. She left it in the bag for the moment. The basilisk was still so close. "How did you choose the girl?"

"The boy, Voldemort, sssaid ssshe mussst die. Ssshe was an enemy of the ssschool." The basilisk was still circling.

Harper noticed uncomfortably that she was now trapped in a ring made by the snake as it slithered around her. It hadn't acted this way before. Did it somehow know she was planning to kill it? Could it smell the rooster inside the bag? This talk wasn't distracting it. She needed something to get it to move away from her. "Did Salazar Slytherin leave anything in the Chamber of Secrets besides you?"

The basilisk stopped circling, it's triangular head bobbed. "Yesss, hisss legacy."

"There is? What is his legacy?" Curiosity warred with relief inside her. This could be the distraction she needed.

"The other ssspeaker, Voldemort, took the booksss, but not the resssst."

The books were probably on dark magic, but what else might have been there. She never remembered hearing about Slytherin's legacy, just the creature. "Show me."

"Thisss way." The basilisk slithered away toward the other side of the chamber.

This was her chance, her distraction. She slid her hand into the bag and felt the chicken. Now was the time. Now or never. Walking slowly, letting herself fall behind she slipped her hand into the bag and got a good grip on the rooster.

"Murder! Murderer!" came the distant cry of Moaning Myrtle. "You killed me! You killed me! Perfect Tom the Prefect! Now I'm going to kill you!"

Myrtle was supposed to warn her, not attack Quirrellmort! The basilisk spun around and Harper closed her eyes. She focused on the sound of the basilisk hissing and tried to speak parseltongue. "_Ignore the ghost! Kill the intruder!_"

"_Hunt! Kill!_" The basilisk whipped past her.

Harper felt it pass, was almost knocked down as it slithered by her. Hurriedly she opened her eyes. She took one deep breath to calm herself and center her power. This had to work. She pointed the wand at the basilisk. "_Tittandium!_" — the Deafening Jinx caused a loud ringing in the victim's ears making it impossible to hear. Theo had taught it to her for dueling. It was harder for an opponent to counter spells when they couldn't hear what you'd cast. Now she just prayed that it would keep Voldemort from being able to command the basilisk.

She sprinted after the snake which was moving faster than a thing of its size should. She caught up with its tail, but the tunnel that connected the Chamber of Secrets was narrow and she couldn't pass the snake. The basilisk wasn't quiet. "_Hunt! Kill!_"

"Stop! I am the Heir of Slytherin!" The voice from ahead hissed loudly and with authority. "_I am Lord Voldemort! You will obey me!_"

"Murder the murderer!" taunted Myrtle as she darted around the room. She was looked almost completely solid.

"Myrtle! Don't look!" Harper cried out. The basilisk was almost at the entrance chamber.

"Exorcizo Spiritus!" commanded Quirrell.

Suddenly everything happened at all once. Harper caught sight of a glowing Myrtle flying backwards through the air like she'd been hit by a train. She vanished into the ceiling. The basilisk lunged forward and Quirrellmort screamed, but the scream was suddenly cut-off. Harper saw the basilisk lift its head and saw to her horror that it had half-swallowed Quirrell head first. The lower half of Quirrel's body hung from its mouth, his legs still twitching. Harper turned from the sight as her stomach flipped and she threw up everything she'd eaten. After several heaves she remembered to close her eyes.

As she lay there heaving, suddenly something vile struck her like a wave of pure evil. It washed over her and dug inside her, sliding under her skin, concentrated darkness invading her body and soul. She felt herself sinking into unconsciousness, no being pushed into unconsciousness. She tried to fight back, but suddenly the pressure was gone. Whatever the thing was it screamed, not with a voice, but she heard it anyway. The presence withdrew as fast as it had attacked her.

"What the hell was that?" She felt very weak but she rolled up a bit and risked staring at the ground to locate the basilisk. It had been beside her. It was almost pitch dark so brought out her wand "_Lumos!_" She could make out the form of the basilisk now. The basilisk started going through a set of convulsions for some reason. Harper watched cautiously. Had Quirrellmort done something to it? Where was Myrtle? If Quirrellmort was dead did she need to kill the basilisk? Yes, it was still too dangerous to leave alive. Feeling shakey she moved her wand to her left hand and felt for the rooster in the bag.

The basilisk suddenly stopped convulsing. Then it spoke. "_Harry Potter,_" hissed the basilisk. "_The Deafening Curse, almost clever, but not clever enough. You cost me a host, but this is a better one. You will tell me all that filthy mudblood ghost told you now._"

Harper froze where she was, the rooster in her right hand still in the bag, her wand in her left hand. "_You're in the basilisk._"

"_Yesss, I should have done this before. I feel so strong. It is a much better host than Quirrell ever was. Although I do miss my wand. You're going to die, Harry Potter. Do you want a slow painful death from my bite, or a fast one from gaze? Just tell me what I want. What all did that ghost tell you about me?_" Voldemort slithered forward.

Harper's mind raced. Where was Myrtle? Quirrell had hit her with a spell. Harper hadn't even known that there were spells that could affect ghosts. She had the bird in hand. Worth two in the bush said a part of her brain that was too close to the brink of insanity. However, it didn't matter. She couldn't get the rooster out, get her wand and get off a _Reenervate_ before Voldemort could bite her. She had to stall for time. She looked down, forced herself to speak English and speak it loudly. Myrtle seemed to draw power from the anger over her death. "Myrtle, told me how you killed her. In the girl's toilet."

"_Yes, I did. Foolish muggle-born girl. She was worth more dead and alive. She was a nothing. She became my first step to immortality. Shedding her blood to give me life was the greatest thing she could have done with her life. What else did she tell you?_"

Harper raised her voice. Louder. If Myrtle would just fly around and distract Voldelisk, then she'd have a small chance. "Myrtle told me you _murdered_ her with the basilisk! You killed her in the toilet. You're a murderer! She told me her name, Myrtle Ophelia Klugg!"

Then like a guardian angle Moaning Myrtle swept back into the room from the ceiling. "I heard you! Is he dead? Did the snake get him?"

"He IS the snake!" Harper screamed.

"Naughty Tom!" and Myrtle dove into the snake's head.

The snake started thrashing. Harper pulled out the rooster, dropped it on the ground. It squawked. She quickly transferred her wand to her right hand and hit it with the spell that should make it crow if she'd done her research right. "_Reenervate!_"

The rooster opened its mouth and crowed.

The basilisk was already thrashing about, but suddenly it went into massive convulsions. It rolled into Harper smashing her against the wall. Several stones shook loose from the ceiling and the tunnel started rumbling. Desperately Harper crawled away as more and more stones fell. She didn't dare look back to see what was happening. She might meet its gaze. Smaller stones and dirt pelted her body as she crawled free.

"Now you're dead again, Tom!" shrieked Myrtle with glee.

Myrtle's glowing body lit the room and Harper glanced back to see the ghost struggling with something dark. The head of the basilisk stuck out of a pile of rubble. So it was dead. Her gaze went back to Myrtle.

Myrtle seemed to be trying to grab the dark thing in her hands and strangle it. "Oh no you don't. Where are you going? Come back you bastard!"

Harper watched in disbelief as the spirit of Voldemort fled from Moaning Myrtle, the girl who haunted the toilet. "Myrtle is he gone?"

"Yes, he fled. He's different. Can't really fight him. Like trying to grab water."

Harper was still trying to wrap her head around what happened. "Myrtle, thanks for coming back. You saved my life." She wondered if she owed Myrtle a life debt. Wouldn't that be interesting? Could a living person even owe a life debt to a ghost?

"Help me kill the bastard permanently and we'll call it even."

Harper laughed, but it came out more like an insane cackle. She was just a little on edge. "That's something I'll be glad to help you do!" She supposed that everything considered she hadn't done that badly. Quirrell was dead and it wasn't even Christmas. The basilisk was dead a year early. She was running well ahead of Harry Potter.


	29. Chapter 29 - Witching Hour

**Witching Hour**

"Good night, Poppy." Harper gave her foster mother her best fake smile from her bed.

"Good night, Dear. You get some rest. Things will look better in the morning." Poppy slipped her wand out and banished the light then left, closing the door behind her.

Harper waited a second to be sure she was gone then gripped her pillow tightly. Finally, she was alone. Poppy wasn't so bad, but the kindly nurse had almost undone her with her concern. Harper had gotten through the day on autopilot, doing what had to be done: catch the cobra, take it to Kettleburn, lie about it, face the Slytherins, lie some more, get told how great it was to be a parselmouth, lie about it, get complimented by Draco, lie and hide. Inside she'd been dead. She'd faced the basilisk and Voldemort running on desperation and adrenaline but after it had been over she'd just wanted to run away and cry.

Boys didn't cry. Harry Potter especially did not cry, and as far as anyone else knew she'd only been outed for being a parselmouth. However, she was a girl and she needed to cry. That's what she'd done when dying from cancer in a previous life. She'd hold it in during the day and cry at night. Now the tears wouldn't flow. The pain was there like some kind of poison inside her. What had she been thinking? She could have been killed. Why was she doing this? She had a new life, a second chance to live. Why was she risking that by fighting basilisks and Voldemort? She had gold in her vault at Gringotts. She could clean out her vault and run away, far away. Maybe America. She was really an American after all, not a Britt, despite the way she spoke now. This wasn't her fight. Let the Britts defeat Voldemort. She could find some safe school for magic thousands of miles away.

People would die. Lots of innocent people would die. She was Harry Bloody Potter. She was the one who could kill Voldemort. Without her the muggle-born wizards would be rounded up like the Jews in Nazi Germany. How many muggle-borns were there in England? Thousands? The wizards who opposed Voldemort would be slaughtered. Thousands more. Then He-With-No-Nose would turn on the muggle world. How many? Plus those dying of cancer. Millions of them.

It had seemed like such an easy plan. Be Harry Potter, only do it better than Harry did. Use the fame she would gain to seize political power in Britain. Use that power to change the secrecy laws and save lives. Millions of lives a year lost to cancer. All those lives resting on her. Finally she felt her tears flowing, because she just didn't think she was strong enough. She'd psyched herself up to destroy Ravenclaw's diadem, and that hadn't been too bad. This one had been bad. Dead Quirrellmort and a dead basilisk. She could probably see thestrals now and that was the good part. It could have so easily been her dead, maybe even Myrtle, too. She pretended, but she wasn't really Harry Potter. She was just plain old Harper Potts. She wasn't cut out to be a hero. She'd gotten lucky. Without Myrtle's help she would be dead. For that matter even if the plans went right, she would still have to die again. She was the final horcrux. Would she come back? She'd face death with dignity once, but she'd been sick then. The pain had been constant and death had been a friend. It was a lot different when her body was young and healthy.

The tears became a steady stream as she cried in the darkness about the unfairness of it all. She didn't want to die again. She didn't want to fight again. She did it only because she'd had to. The sight of Quirrellmort's legs dangling out of the basilisk's mouth wasn't still so vivid. She wanted to quit. That could have been her. Thousands of wizards. Millions with cancer. She cried big sobs into her pillow until she cried herself to sleep.

"Harry. Harrryyy. Wake up, Harry," moaned Myrtle. "You promised to come talk to me tonight, but you didn't."

Harper didn't want to wake up. "Go away, Myrtle. I'm sleeping."

"Harry, you promised. You want me to keep my promises, don't'cha Harry?"

Harper groaned and looked about. Myrtle was little more than a glowing blur. She located her glasses and slipped them on. Myrtle snapped into focus. "Fine, I'm awake. What did you want to talk about?"

"You were going to tell me all about Perfect Prefect Tommy Riddle and how we're going to kill the murderer. You told me you have a plan. What is it? How do we kill him?"

Harper sighed. "What time is it Myrtle?"

"Midnight, of course, the witching hour, when all the ghosts come out to play. Would you prefer me to wait until the bell tolls one and discuss things with the Ghost of Christmas Past?"

Harper studied Myrtle suspiciously. "There aren't really ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, are there?"

"Ickle Firsty!" chortled Myrtle. "I can't believe you bought that old one. No there aren't, but I will haunt you Harry Potter until the day you die. You made me promise to you, forged another shackle to hold me to this world. You owe me. We're going to kill him, remember?"

Harper nodded unhappily. She didn't feel as bad after crying herself to sleep and getting a few hours of rest, but her wonderful plan didn't sound so great any longer. However, she didn't have a lot of alternatives. "First, we have to destroy his horcruxes. There were five of them: his diary, the Gaunt family ring, the locket of Salazar Slytherin, the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, and the diadem of Ravenclaw." Plus Nagini in the future and last of all herself, the seventh horcrux. "I've destroyed one of them, the diadem of Ravenclaw. Now I'm going to tell you where all of them are hidden. Pay careful attention. If I die, go tell the Headmaster where they're hidden."

"The Gaunt family ring can at one of their old ancestral properties. It is guarded by wards, enchantments and a powerful curse. Tom's diary is currently in the possession of Lucius Malfoy. Slytherin's locket was hidden in a cave guarded by traps and inferni. However, it was stolen by Regulus Black and hidden in the House of Black. The cup of Helga Hufflepuff is in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange under Gringotts." She took a breath and let it slowly. It was a relief to share that information. "I know of three sure ways to kill a horcrux. The first is Fiendfyre. The second is basilisk venom. I destroyed the diadem of Ravenclaw by having the basilisk bite it. The third requires a goblin-forged blade. A goblin-forged blade will absorb that which makes it stronger. Take a goblin-forged blade and soak it in basilisk venom and it can destroy a horcrux. I've done some reading and I suspect that Universal Solvent would also work, but honestly what little I read about that potion made it sound more dangerous than the other methods."

Myrtle was listening raptly to all of this information. "How do you know all this?"

Harper shook her head. "I know. That's all you need to know for now, Myrtle, but this is important. If you want him dead, don't tell anyone. If he discovers that we are hunting and destroying his horcruxes, he'll move them. Then we won't be able to find them ever again."

"I understand. I'll keep your secrets as I promised. Which horcrux did he make from my murder?"

"The diary, I think. Maybe Gaunt's ring. He didn't locate the other objects until years later."

"I think I'll know which one, when we find it. There was a reason that I didn't pass on. I never knew what it was, not until you told me that I was murdered. I haunted Olive Hornsby, but I knew that she wasn't the real reason. I just needed to hurt someone and she deserved it, but this is why I'm still here. This is what I have to fix. I can't move on until he's dead."

Ah hell, now she had to tell Myrtle the rest. "I left one out, Myrtle. Me. When he cursed me, he left a piece of me in here." She lifted her hair and showed her curse scar. "I'll have to die for him to pass on." There was a chance she'd live on, but really there were no guarantees were there?

"So we destroy all the others and then you off yourself?" Myrtle floated down and tried to give Harper a consoling pat, but her hand passed through Harper's body. "Don't worry about it too much. Being dead isn't so bad. You can come haunt my toilet with me. We're going to have to tell others. Not to be selfish about things, but you won't be able to kill him after you're dead. I can only struggle with him when he's in another body."

Harper shrugged. "I'll tell the Headmaster. Sometime soon. I'm not ready yet. You're my backup plan now in case anything happens to me, but tell me about how you fought him. I didn't think that was possible."

Myrtle settled down so it looked like she was sitting crosslegged on the bed, but she was actually floating a few inches above it. "Ghosts call it skin walking. You breathers call it possession. Any ghost can attempt it. It's easier to do on animals than people, but it is very tiring. Tom has a strange spirit. He's not a ghost, but I can fight him like I would another ghost. The basilisk was fighting him, too, so I had help."

"So you can possess people? I didn't know ghosts could do that. You said something about it not being allowed?"

"Oh, the Bureau of Hauntings takes a very dim view of possession. Most spells won't hurt a ghost, but the Bonerattlers who work for the B.O.H. know spells to control ghosts. They can torture us, trap us, banish us from places. As long as we 'behave' we're tolerated. If we put just one little spectral toe out of line, then we're classified as an impure spirit. Then they whip the soul hooks and start ripping your ectoplasm out in chunks." She shuddered. "I got a little taste of what they can do for haunting Olive Hornsby. I don't want to experience that again."

Alrighty then. This was new. "Do you think that those spells would work on Tom Riddle in his current state?" Could it be that easy? "Where would I find these spells?"

"They might." Myrtle got a sly look on her face. "Tell me how you know all that you've told me and I'll tell you where you can find the spells."

"Hey, I thought you wanted him dead!"

"I do! I want him dead, deader, deadest. Right now he's only partly dead. You're holding back on me. So… what is it? Do you want to know where to find the spells?"

"Fine, but this is a secret and you gave your oath not to tell. I have dreams. Some of them are about things that haven't happened yet, but some of them are about him. That's how I know." She felt a bit guilty at not giving Myrtle the whole truth, but the whole truth wasn't very believable.

Myrtle tilted her head like a bird studying something. "So you're a seer of some sort then. I guess that explains some things. Does that mean if he moves them, then you can find them?"

Harper shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. So are you going to tell me about the spells."

"Fine, but keep it quiet. The other ghosts would hate me so much if they found out that I told a breather. There is a book, here at Hogwarts. It's in the restricted section. All the ghosts here know about it. It's called the Book of the Dead. Occasionally some sixth or seventh year gets their hands on it and starts bossing us ghosts around. Then we complain to the Ghost Council and they complain to the Headmaster and he puts a stop to it."

Harper had the feeling that it really couldn't be that easy to defeat Voldemort, but maybe he was vulnerable in his spirit state. "I need to get my hands on that book!"

Myrtle shrugged. "I can't help you there, but do you have a plan for destroying Tom's horcrux thingies?"

"I do. One of them I know from my dreams. Lucius Malfoy will give the diary to a Hogwarts student sometime soon. Usually it is a little red head girl." She didn't want to claim it was Ginny Weasley, because she'd noticed things had a habit of playing out with different people involved. I think that happens soon, either this year or next year. You can help there. Keep a watch on that sink. If someone besides me uses it, then they are possessed by the piece of Tom's soul in the diary. Get me immediately, we'll get the diary and destroy it."

Myrtle smiled. "Alright! That I can do. That's easy. I just have to haunt my toilet like I always do."

Harper liked this development. Myrtle had a role to play and she had a backup set of eyes in case Lucius Malfoy gave the diary to someone besides Ginny Weasley.

"The other one is more complicated…" She explained about Peter Pettigrew being an animagus, how Sirius Black was innocent and if she exposed Peter, then she could save Sirius and get to the locket in the Black manor. "… I'll probably have to out myself to Dumbledore then at least about having dreams. I don't see any way around it, but I'm holding off until I can cast a good solid stunning spell. I'll need proof to show him or he won't believe me."

Myrtle looked skeptical. "What if you showed him the Chamber of Secrets and the dead basilisk. Wouldn't that be proof enough? Don't get me wrong, Harry. I'm on your side. I want Tom Riddle dead as much as you do. Even more, but you're just a kid and I'm a ghost. We need help and Dumbledore is a powerful wizard."

Harper sighed. "I'm not ready to go to him yet. When I can stun Pettigrew, not before. I told you all of this, because you're my backup plan now. If anything happens to me, you can go tell Dumbledore. I trust you because you want him dead."

"I shouldn't have given you that promise, but I did. I hope you know what you're doing, because if he kills you, I'll haunt you for your entire afterlife."

* * *

**A/N:** I made a wrong turn in writing on the way to this chapter. I didn't like the result and decided it should be cut from the story. Instead of just deleting it, I opened a new story for outtakes: story/story_edit_ ?storyid=9591657 Anything published in outtakes didn't happen in the story. In the case of Jade the characterization of Harper was off. Rather than rewrite the chapter I moved on to this chapter. I think Witching Hour is a better next chapter to Basilisk than Jade.


	30. Chapter 30 - Bullied

**Bullied**

It didn't take Harper long to notice that people judged her differently now that everyone knew she was a parselmouth. Before she'd been sorted into Slytherin, but it hadn't really felt like she was part of the house. Sure, for Ron the weasel and his followers the sorting had been enough, but she hadn't felt open suspicion from Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. That changed after the dueling club meeting. The Claws and Puffs still weren't hostile, but she they now treated her with caution. In Slytherin the reverse happened. Before it was like they had all wondered why Harry Potter was sorted into Slytherin. Now she was fully accepted as one of the snakes. Gryffindors were now openly hostile. Many of them made hissing sounds whenever she passed them in the halls. She also got hit by a few more pranks, which she suspected the Gryffindors were behind, but they were more annoyances. It gave her a chance to practice constant vigilance.

Not everyone treated her differently. Theo took it all in stride. He thought it was brilliant that she was a parselmouth. He also encouraged her to bond the cobra, which she had named Jade, as a familiar. He thought it would be an awesome advantage for her in dueling, because serpent familiars gave the gift of fast reflexes to their master.

Harper wasn't sure she wanted to bond Jade as a familiar. All the cobra really cared about was food and having a warm place to rest. To be honest she would have preferred a more traditional and affectionate pet like a dog or a cat. Since wizards didn't bond dogs as familiars, a cat would do. She would like something warm to hold and pet that cared about her. When she let Jade out of its cage, it would curl around her, but strictly because it liked her body heat. Although she had to admit that Jade was good at keeping Crabbe and Goyle away. Neither one of them gave her any trouble any more.

She wasn't really that concerned about her reputation. Unlike Harry Potter she was in Slytherin House, so being a parselmouth didn't really change much. However, she was concerned that her new reputation was affecting Hermione. Her bookworm friend still ate at the Gryffindor table, but she ate alone. No one sat beside her. When they met to study, Hermione stuck strictly to their coursework with no small talk at all. Harper let her be for a few days, but the final straw came when Poppy discretely let her know that Hermione had been in the hospital wing. Harper wasn't surprised to find her in the library, but she was surprised to find her writing in a composition style notebook with a pen.

"Hey, Hermione, mind if I join you?" Harper moved to sit down.

"Yes, sure." She hurriedly closed her notebook. "It's not one of our study days. Did you want to go over our transfiguration essays? Mine is already three inches over."

Harper shook her head. "No, I want to know who cursed you and sent you to the hospital wing."

"It's not really any of your business, Harry. I don't even know how you found out."

"Poppy told me. She is my foster mum, you know." Although the way rumors fly around Hogwarts, she would have no doubt heard in a day or so anyway.

"B-but. That's a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality."

"That's for muggle doctors. Poppy swore the Medi-witch's Oath and that's magically binding. She can't reveal personal details about her patients. All I knew was that you visited her. Poppy suggested that you needed a friend. I suspected you were cursed, but I wasn't sure until you confirmed it just now."

"That's a sneaky Slytherin trick to pull on me. Why didn't you just ask me?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" She eyed her friend. "Something is going on and you're keeping it to yourself. What is it? Who cursed you?"

Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "I can't tell you, Harry. I know you. You should have been in Gryffindor. You defended my 'honor' once already. I don't need you breaking school rules and dueling people. You will only make things worse. This is my problem and I have a plan to deal with it."

While she hadn't necessarily planned to duel whoever had cursed Hermione, it certainly had been far from her mind. "Fine. If you have a plan, then I'll let you handle things your way, but I want to know what's been happening to you and what your plan is."

"I'm not sure I should let you know. I've got it under control."

"Alright then, if you don't tell me, I'll challenge Ronny Weasel to another duel. I'm pretty sure he's behind all this." She pushed back from the table and stood.

"Wait. Sit down, Harry. For someone so smart and talented you can act just like the other boys sometimes. Look, I have a plan. I've gone to McGonagall every time. She says she can't do anything without proof, but if I can document a pattern of behavior then she will do something."

Harper wanted to groan or maybe scream. What a typical Hermione solution to a problem: make notes and tell a teacher. That probably had worked for her in muggle school growing up. From what Harper had observed, the wizarding world still believed that 'kids will be kids' and tolerated a great deal of magical dueling and pranking in students. As long as no one got injured it was accepted. It even made some sense from the wizarding perspective. While there were some laws outlawing extreme misconduct like theft, murder and the Imperious Curse, most disagreements between adult wizards were settled by dueling or threat of dueling. A wizard's place in society had a lot to do with their personal magical strength, ability to duel, and whether or not they had a powerful patron like the lord of some noble house. Harper was still trying to wrap her head around it, but wizarding society felt like a mix of European feudal and American Old West with a dash of British parliament and ministries thrown in. Given that, it wasn't any surprise they let their children play rough. Harper thought it was a silly way to run a society and an even worse way to run a school, but that was the reality in which she lived.

How to explain that to her idealistic young friend? "Would you show me the log, please?"

"I don't think that is a good idea, Harry. It will make you angry and you'll want to duel someone. I don't need someone to defend my honor. I can defend my own."

If Hermione didn't want her to see the log, then it must be bad. "You told McGonagall… have you told your parents?" Hermione's downturned gaze told her all she needed to know. "So you're hiding it from me, and you're hiding it from your parents."

"Different reaction, same reasons. You and my parents are both overprotective. You'll go pick a fight with someone. They just might pull me from Hogwarts. I have everything under control."

Harper crossed her arms. "No, you don't. If it was under control, then you wouldn't have been in the hospital wing. It doesn't matter. It's enough that they put you in the hospital. I'll make sure the Ronny Weasel pay in full anyway. I'm sure he's involved, and he has no idea who he is dealing with." Facing down Ron Weasley would be nothing compared to killing a basilisk and Quirrelmort.

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, no! This is why I didn't want you to know."

"Too late, I already know. If it's so bad that you can't tell me, then it is too bad to let slide."

"You don't understand. I've got this under control. I'm going to ignore them and document a pattern. McGonagall has already told the prefects they need to reign in the pranks. This will blow over. Some other juicy bit of gossip will grab the attention of all the little minds. Everyone is already wondering where Professor Quirrell went. That should probably overtake your being a parselmouth before long."

Hermione just didn't get it. Ending up in the hospital was not in control. Harper paused a moment because she was losing control herself. She wanted to go hex Ron so bad that he'd run screaming from her. However, that wouldn't help. She focused on her breathing and calmed herself. Once she stopped reacting and started thinking, it was obvious how to get through to Hermione.

"You're wrong, Hermione. I do understand." She kept her emotions in check, calm and quiet and just a whisper. Deliberately she rolled up the left sleeve of her arm to reveal a circular scar. "Do you know how I got this scar?"

Hermione looked puzzled. "No."

"Cigar burn."

Hermione's puzzled expression continued for only a moment. She gasped and then paled. "Poppy wouldn't do that to you. She's kind."

"Poppy is my foster mum."

"But your parents died…" The gears in Hermione's brain turned quickly. "How long has she been your foster mother?"

"Since June. Before that I lived with the Dursley's, my aunt and uncle and their son. I know all about hiding abuse that you're ashamed of, Hermione."

Harper felt a bit guilty about the way she was approaching this. She was trading on the abuse that the real Harry Potter had suffered, but she hadn't paid her dues. She hadn't even made it through one night with the Dursley's. Her body was marked by years of scars. She wasn't even sure that the circular scar on her left arm was a cigar burn. That was just a guess, but it fit. However, she was willing to borrow Harry's pain if it got through Hermione's walls of denial.

"You never told me. I never guessed." She looked like she was about to cry. "I understand now why you're reacting this way. It's not like cigar burns. Really it's not. Here, you can look at the log that I'm keeping. See for yourself."

Hermione's notes were meticulous: date and time of incident, where it happened, what happened, who was present, and date it was reported to McGonagall. She had more than thirty separate incidents logged. Several of them were mundane: books moved or stolen, homework missing and such. It would be impossible to prove that Hermione hadn't just lost them. However, most of the entries were magical pranks and they'd obviously gotten worse over the past few days since the dueling club. Her robes had been changed to green and silver on multiple occasions. Her shampoo was spiked with Hair Raising Tonic. Her robes and her sheets were covered with itching powder. She'd been hit by the Hissing Jinx on multiple occasions. The ink in her inkwells had been replaced with Vanishing Ink so her homework and notes disappeared after she wrote them. The latest 'prank', the one that sent her to the hospital ward, had caused her tongue to become forked and grow to twice its normal size. From the variety of the incidents she had multiple people bullying her. At least some of the bullies were girls, because they'd gotten into Hermione's things inside her dorm room.

"I understand now why you didn't want to show me. It's all about me, isn't it? You know that all you have to do to make it stop is keep away from me. I'd understand. That's what Octavia did. We're still friends, but she said she wanted to keep her distance until the fuss dies down."

Hermione shook her head forcefully. "Honestly Harry, if you think I'm going to let them dictate who I'm friends with then you don't really know me at all. As for Octavia, it might not be my place to say, but I don't think she's being a true friend."

Harper nodded in agreement. The situation with Octavia had worked to her advantage. She had squeezed some concessions out of Octavia to remain 'friends', but it wasn't really friendship. She wasn't sure that Octavia really understood friendship. However, Octavia could wait. Hermione needed her now. "Hermione, this isn't pranking. You're being bullied. You've got more than thirty separate incidents. If that isn't enough of a pattern to convince McGonagall to do something, then what will?"

"Oh, McGonagall did do _something_, after the snake tongue jinx. She spoke with the prefects and told them the pranks were out of hand and to put a stop to them. Percy Weasley is a prefect. I'm pretty sure that Ron, Fred and George are the ringleaders. I think they'll back off some. I can ignore the rest. I'm not going to give them what they want. I'm not going to play their game. I will rise above it and trounce them with the best marks."

Hermione's plan wasn't stupid. It was just very muggle. It played by the rules. She still believed that ultimately playing by the rules was rewarded and rule-breakers punished. That wasn't how wizards worked, not even wizard children. Harper knew how to play the game. When Malfoy pushed her, she gathered allies, chose her battlefield, and made a stand. Malfoy was still a wanker, but he didn't bully her on a daily basis. Hermione was refusing to play the game and suffering for it. The question was how to help her. Pranking or dueling Ron wouldn't stop things and might make it worse. Hermione was isolated from her own house. How to make Hermione see that?

"Hermione do you trust me?"

"Of course, I do. I don't believe all the things they're saying about you."

"Then come with me. I think you need a second opinion. I want to ask my foster dad. He has taught me more about how wizarding customs really work than anyone. I think he can help." Hermione was still looking skeptical. "He used to be the head librarian here before Madame Pince. I think he can help you."

"Well, alright then," she reluctantly agreed.

Harper led Hermione to the teacher's wing. Hermione balked at the age line, but Harper was able to get her past by holding her hand. A little bit later they were sharing tea and biscuits with Steven Pompfrey and Harper was explaining what was happening to Hermione. Harper had to do most of the talking. For some reason Hermione had turned shy, but she gave up her log when Steven asked.

Steven Pomfrey read it over and pondered it for quite a while. "Miss Granger, what does Professor McGonagall say when you bring these reports to her?"

"Not much, she tells me to be brave and promises to look into them. After the last one she said she'd talk to the prefects."

"Be brave… did she never hint at you defending yourself or that witches are just as potent as wizards?"

"She did talk of being brave and talked about standing up to bullies, but she never encouraged me to break the rules."

Steven puffed on his pipe. "Miss Granger, how many friends do you have in Gryffindor?"

"I don't know, sir. Lavender and Pavarti weren't bad at first, but lately… I guess none." Hermione looked down. "I think Harry is the only friend I've made at Hogwarts."

"Do you enjoy being in Gryffindor? Are you proud of them?"

"I love being at Hogwarts and learning to be a witch, but no. I don't particularly like being in Gryffindor and they're just as stuck-up as Slytherin, present company excepted."

Steven smiled. "Well, there you have it then. Why don't you see the headmaster and ask to be resorted?"

Harper gasped in surprise. "Is that possible?"

"Can you do that?" asked Hermoine at almost the same time. "It's not in the student handbook."

"Not everything is in the student handbook. The Sorting Hat isn't perfect. Every few years it makes a mistake. It is in no one's best interest to force you to stay in Gryffindor if you're not happy."

"I think that I would like that! I think I would have been ever so much better off, if I'd been in Ravenclaw."

"Good, now you have a plan. I tell you what, let's go see if Filius is in his rooms. If we can get his approval, this will go smoother." Steven moved the blanket the covered his legs and slowly rose. "Harry, I know that you are concerned about your friend, but she will need to do this on her own."

Harper rose and nodded. "I understand and I'm thrilled for her! I think Ravenclaw will be a much better match for her. Good luck, Hermione!"

Hermione rushed forward and impetuously hugged Harper. "Thank you so much."

Harper was a little surprised at the hugging, but she returned it. "You're welcome. Go, talk to Professor Flitwick. I'll stay here, study and put another kettle on. Come back and let me know how it works out."


	31. Chapter 31 - New Lessons

**New Lessons**

In many ways the weeks leading up to Winter Break were her best time at Hogwarts. With Quirrellmort dead and gone there was no reason to try and save the stone. It could just sit there behind its protections. There was still the problem of saving Sirius, but she had a plan: stun the rat and take Pettigrew to Dumbledore. She was working on her Stunning Spell and was still hopeful she could find someone else to involve instead of Dumbledore. She had time.

The strife in her personal life had settled down as well. Hermione had been right. The gossip about what happened to Professor Quirrell soon overtook the news of her being a parselmouth. Apparently once the shock of her being one wore off, it didn't matter that much since she was in Slytherin House already. Sure she had a dark reputation now, but so did most of the other Slytherins. Even the fecal matter flinging monkeys of Gryffindor settled down a great deal once Hermione transferred to Ravenclaw. They apparently felt vindicated that she had driven the 'traitor' out of their house.

Gryffindor's loss was Ravenclaw's gain and Hermione's. Harper was thrilled to see that within days of switching houses her friend was smiling more and actually had friends. Hermione was much happier in blue and bronze than red and gold. The Ravenclaws had welcomed her with open arms. The study group which had started out mostly Harper and Hermione with Theo sometimes, quickly expanded to include several Ravenclaws and sometimes Blaise. Harper wasn't sure that was entirely a good thing. The larger group made it harder for her and Hermione to study ahead on the material. On the other hand, she was building bridges with Ravenclaw.

One thing that was unquestionably good was DADA. Dumbledore had been unable to find anyone willing to step into the position. So seven different professors were each taking on one grade level and acting as substitute teachers. First years got Professor Septima Vector. Octavia's mother wasn't quite as odd as her daughter. Septima was still formal and very precise, but excelled as a teacher. She gave equal treatment to defending against dark creatures and knowing simple spells and potions that could save your life in an emergency. They wouldn't learn healing spells for years yet, but the Coagulation Charm would staunch most bleeding. Freezing to death? Tranfigure some wood and use _Incendio_ to make yourself a fire. Hurt in a remote area? The sequence of three flares: red, yellow, blue was almost universally recognized in the wizarding world as a cry for distress. Many of Professor Vector's suggestions were simple and obvious, but they weren't in the textbook. Harper thought it was brilliant that a professor at Hogwarts was actually focusing on something useful.

Without the pressing danger of Quirrellmort, she was tempted to slack off some, but she had learned in the Chamber of Secrets that living Harry Potter's life wasn't exactly safe. She needed to be prepared. So she kept studying ahead, she still ran every morning, and she practiced dueling often. She also managed to make a start on some other items, thanks to Octavia.

When the rumors about her being a parselmouth had been at their worst, Octavia had announced that she still wanted to continue to be friends, but she had to distance herself for a time. Harper had exploited that and demanded a price to remain friends, the loan of two books from the restricted section: _The Book of the Dead_ and _Voyages Within the Mind_. She still felt guilty about that. Real friends didn't demand gifts to be friends and Octavia really needed a real friend. However, she desperately wanted those books. One might help her attack Voldemort while he was in his spirit form. The other would help her learn more about occulumency than just meditating. Octavia had been all too willing to pay the price to stay friends.

_The Book of the Dead _turned out to be a lot less useful than Harper had hoped. It was a very difficult read. It was an English translation of a Latin translation of an old Egyptian book. It wasn't organized in any fashion. It contained parables, poetry, and stories mixed in with instructions for spells, potions and incantations. There were clearly references to ghosts and the afterlife including mummification rituals. However, it also used a lot of Egyptian hieroglyphs. It had taken some research to learn that hieroglyphs were basically runes, but Egyptian hieroglyphs wouldn't be covered until fifth year Ancient Runes. Harper wasn't giving up on the Book of the Dead yet, but progress was obviously going to be slow.

The other book, _Voyages Within the Mind,_ was a much easier read. It wasn't _Occulumency for Dummies_, but it was logically laid out and all the steps made sense. There was a lot more to occulmency than merely 'clear your mind'. The book started with meditation, but went beyond. The next steps were how to use visualization to create walls and barriers around memories, dreams or attackers. Harper was a bit dismayed to see that practice against a Legilimens was the only way to perfect those walls and barriers.

However, walls and barriers wasn't anywhere close to the end of the book. There was a large section of the book dedicated to knowing one's self better. That was the reason for the title. To defend your mind, you first had to explore it and understand it. To that end, the book listed potions, spells and rituals for the 'voyage within'. All of which made her wonder. Was this another difference from the books? Or had Snape not really cared about teaching Harry Occulumency? Toward the end of the book, she discovered why the book was in the restricted section. It turned to 'voyages beyond'. Apparently, Occulumency and Legilimency were two sides of one coin. Learning to be a good Occulumens also made you a good Legilimens.

_Voyages Within the Mind_ wasn't a book that could be simply read. She'd skimmed ahead a lot, but she would have to start with the blocking exercises and practice them. The real sticking point is that to be sure she was doing it right, she would need a Legilimens to probe her shields. It was pretty much guaranteed that whoever she chose, would be inside her mind. She wouldn't get her shields right the first time. So whoever she selected would almost certainly discover she was a girl named Harper Potts.

She spent several days reading the sections on protecting her mind over and over. She started doing the exercises, but there was no way to tell if she was doing it right. She needed someone to probe her mind. No way in hell it would be Snape. She certainly didn't trust Dumbledore. He was the main reason she needed to learn occulumency. She was pretty sure that as soon as she slapped the body of a stunned rat on his desk, he was going to use any means at his disposal to find out how she had knowledge that he didn't.

It was sad that Dumbledore was her best choice to get Sirius free. She needed someone with political connections. Cornelius Fudge was a fool and cared more about sweeping things under the rug. Amelia Bones, aunt of Susan Bones and head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was an option, but the evidence in the books was that the Ministry of Magic was full of Death Eaters. What if she investigated everything and filed reports? Harper's worst case scenario was Voldemort moving his horcruxes. Dumbledore hoarded information like a squirrel hoarded nuts. He tucked it away in little hidey holes and forgot where he'd put half of it. As annoying as secret hoarding was in the books, it fit perfectly with Harper's plans to destroy all the horcruxes before Riddle even got his body back.

That led her back to needing to learn occulumency so she could be the one doling out information to Dumbledore. With Albus Dumbledore knowledge was power and Harper wanted to be the one holding the cards. So she needed someone to use legilimency against her so she could perfect her occulumency. She really only had four candidates.

Myrtle was her top choice. The ghost had already promised to keep her secrets. However, Myrtle didn't think it would work. When she possessed a host, she did not gain access to their thoughts or memories. Harper even volunteered to let Myrtle possess her and that had been very uncomfortable, but it hadn't worked. The struggle for possession worked at the level of the soul, not the level of the mind.

While Theo was her best friend, he was still easy to cross off the list. Against all odds she had really made friends with an eleven year old boy. He was her best mate, but Theo had some dark secret that he wasn't sharing yet. She still didn't know the source of his fears and his father was a Death Eater. Their friendship was based more on shared activities: dueling, jogging, studying, etc. They didn't spend a lot of time talking and sharing their thoughts. As much as Theo was her friend, Harper didn't think he was ready to meet the real her.

That brought the choices down to Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass. Hermione seemed like the obvious choice. Harper had the greatest respect for Hermione. She was absolutely brilliant, but she still had a fixation on authority figures. She still saw the world in black and white with few shades of gray. Harper was afraid that Hermione wouldn't react well to learning she was Harper Potts inside, not to mention her other secrets.

That left Daphne Greengrass, a girl she barely knew. Daphne was cool and collected. While she would undoubtedly be shocked to learn that Harry Potter was a girl named Harper Potts, Daphne could keep secrets. However, the Greengrass family was dark aligned. Harper couldn't remember a Death Eater named Greengrass in the books, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. How far would the life debt protect her? The life debt to James Potter hadn't kept Snape from abusing Harry Potter. The life debt that Pettigrew owed didn't prevent him from resurrecting Lord Voldemort using Harry's blood. So the evidence in the books was that a life debt didn't do much. Daphne's acting like they were almost betrothed was simply cultural expectation and her father's orders. It wasn't the life bond, but the life bond might be enough.

When she listed logical reasons, Hermione won by a little. However, her gut said Daphne. In the end she decided to keep practicing on her own, and try to learn more about Miss Daphne Greengrass. She would be visiting the Greengrass home over winter break anyway. It would be a very important introduction to pureblood society. However, first she'd have to mend fences, because Daphne wasn't real happy with her. Locating Daphne was easy. They had all the same classes together. It just meant facing Tracy, Millie and Pansy as well. That was just awkward, because all four girls seemed to have romantic expectations.

Still, there was no way around it so she made her move as History of Magic ended. As she walked up all four girls focused on him. Pansy giggled. Millie hid. Tracey smirked. Daphne had her cool, calm and controlled face on. "Daphne, I've been thinking about what you said, that we haven't really talked. You're right. I've been avoiding you. I think we should at least try to get to know each other better."

Daphne did her curtsey thing. "If that is what you wish today, Mr. Potter, but don't feel that you must. You may do whatever you please. If you wish to ignore me, that's your prerogative. I'm the one constrained by custom to dance to your tune."

Harper winced. Where did an eleven year old girl like Daphne learn to do a verbal bitch slap so effectively? Daphne Greengrass would have no problem holding her own among the cheerleaders of any muggle high school. Harper knew how mean girls could twist words, but had rarely been on the receiving end. She had been immune. Even the mean girls look bad picking on the girl with cancer. Right. Only one thing to do, apologize. "I'm sorry that I've been insensitive to your feelings. I am trying to do better. Would you please lunch with me so we can try to begin again?"

"As you wish, Mr. Potter." Another curtsey. "If your wish is to dine with me, then I must agree."

"Shall we go then?" Harper headed toward the Great Hall. She hated the formality of all this. How was she supposed to learn anything real about Daphne when the girl hid behind formality.

The Slytherin girl herd fell in with Daphne and started giggling amongst themselves. Blaise and Theo joined as well. Blaise remained smugly silent. Theo looked shocked and pulled Harper to the side. "I thought you didn't like her. Are you two dating now?"

Harper sighed. "No, Theo, we're not dating, but apparently we're tied together one way or another. I'm going to the Greengrass manor in a few weeks over the winter break. I'm just trying to get to know something about her."

Theo shook his head doubtfully. "Right, if that's what you say. If you can get her birthdate and time from her, I'll draw up her horoscope for you. That will tell you more about what kind of person she is than anything."

Harper gave Theo a big smile. "Thanks. I'll try." She still found it difficult to believe that the configuration of the stars and planets ruled people's lives, but stranger things happened when magic was involved. What was more important was that Theo believed and was trying to help.

When they sat down to eat, Harper had Theo on her right and Daphne on her left. All the other Slytherin first years were around them so their conversation wasn't exactly private. Harper cast her mind about for a topic. She needed to talk about Harry's childhood with the Dursley's at some point. She'd shut Daphne down about that one and she would have to clear the air, but it wasn't a conversation to be had with an audience. However, she could sound out Daphne. "So Daphne, what do you think about muggles?"

From the expressions on some of the girls' faces Harper wondered if she'd been rude. They acted like she'd burped or something. Daphne's face usual calm face showed surprise. "Muggles? I don't really think of them at all. I've never even met one. My family, we're Separatists, not Dominionists if that helps."

"I'm not really sure what those terms mean." Although it was pretty obvious by their names. "What are Separatists and Dominionists?"

Daphne took a dainty bite off her plate, swallowed and cleared her palate with a sip of pumpkin juice before she responded. "They're factions in the Wizengamot. The Separatists believe that the magical and muggle worlds should be kept as far as part as possible. We believe wizards should stay out of muggle politics."

"I see. I thought that was what most wizards believed. So what about the Dominionists?"

"Well, they believe that we should exercise more control over the muggle world. They think muggles are dangerously out of control that wizards need to reign them in before something awful happens."

Harper nodded. Sadly she had to admit that the Dominionists had a point. However, would they be any better? "So what's the difference between the Dominionists and the Death Eaters?"

Daphne scoffed. "There is no comparison, really. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers took some talking points from the Dominionist faction, but he wanted to overthrow the government and rule over England as a Wizard King. He claimed to want an open war with the muggles, but he didn't provoke one. The Dominionists support the Ministry of Magic."

Harper spared a glance around. Apparently everyone else was just listening to her conversation with Daphne. "All right, so you're family are Separatists. That still doesn't answer what you think."

Daphne shrugged. "Like I said, I've never met muggles. From what I've heard some individuals are civilized, but they're dangerous and unpredictable especially in large groups. That's why I've never been around them, but why are you asking me? You were raised by muggles. What do you think about them?"

It was Harper's turn to pause for a bite to eat while she tried to decide how to answer that. She certainly wasn't going to talk about the Dursley's. "Well, I don't think muggles are quite the barbarians you seem to think, but… if you don't know their customs they could be. However, the Dominionists do have a valid point. I'm not convinced wizards would be inherently wiser than muggles, but the muggle world is hurtling towards disaster like an unmanned goblin cart."

"Well, you certainly sound like a Dominionist. They're always worried about some vague disaster, but really how much danger could muggles be to us? No matter what they do, they can't do magic."

Where to start? "How much danger? Really? Do you really understand how badly muggles outnumber us? There are seven billion people on this planet. Only a tiny faction of them are wizards. Do you know about global warming? Nuclear weapons?"

Tracey squirmed in her seat. Millie and Pansy looked confused. Theo started his nervous shaking thing. Blaise gave the slightest nod. Daphne's mask slipped a bit. "Billions? With a 'B'? You mean millions, don't you?"

Harper shook her head. "No, the population of the UK alone is measured in the tens of millions. Worldwide it is billions."

"I see…" She took a sip of pumpkin juice. "That's more than I thought. I have heard about W.M.D.s, weapons of mass destruction. I overheard my father discussing them one day. He said that I didn't need to know. Are these no clear weapons?"

"Nuclear," corrected Tracy quietly. "They're really, really big bombs. A single bomb can destroy an entire city and no ward can stop them."

Pansy giggled. "You're taking the mickey out of us. No little muggle bomb could destroy a city."

"No, I'm not." Harper shook her head. "Dozens of nations have nuclear weapons. The Yanks and the Russians have thousands of them. Either one of them could destroy the world at the press of a button."

"Why doesn't someone do something?" asked Pansy. "They're just muggles. How hard would it be to sneak in and take those nuclear things from them."

"It's not that simple, Pansy." Harper didn't know that much magic, but she knew what security was like around nuclear weapons. "There is nothing that the muggles watch more closely than their nuclear weapons."

"That's not all," said Theo. "Other countries have wizards, too. If nuclear weapons vanished from muggle Britain, you can bet that every other wizarding nation would want to know what we planned to do with them… but Harry you mentioned something else. What is global warming?"

Harper took a deep breath. It was going to be a long lunch.


	32. Chapter 32 - Keeping Secrets

**Keeping Secrets**

Harper found that she was the center of attention of all the Slytherin first years for the rest of the day. Even Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle got involved. Crabbe and Goyle mostly listened, but Malfoy actually asked intelligent questions. They were all suddenly curious about muggles, particularly nuclear weapons and global warming, but the questions ranged into muggle society and technology in general. Most of them thought the moon landing was a story, despite having seen muggle satellites hurtling across the sky during astronomy class. The conversation spread beyond the first years and Harper found herself asked all sorts of questions by other curious, disbelieving and occasional hostile Slytherins.

The fuss died down over the following days, but in the aftermath Harper became the go to person for questions about muggles. Few Slytherins took Muggle Studies, but students several years older than her started asking her advice for their essays for the class. The course was awful in her opinion. Third through fifth years studied from textbooks written by wizards about muggles and the books were woefully out of date. It wasn't until sixth year that they read actual muggle literature, and it wasn't until seventh year that they took field trips to the muggle world. Harper concluded that the professor, Charity Burbage, was yet another incompetent teacher at Hogwarts.

Harper wasn't sure if being known as the muggle guru for Slytherin was a good thing or not, but she did achieve her initial goal — breaking the ice with Daphne Greenglass. Daphne was still very formal, but they were talking now, awkwardly talking, but at least talking. Harper found herself sitting between Daphne and Theo most meals. The rest of the time Daphne stuck like glue to the other three Slytherin girls, but she appeared to be making an effort.

It was something of a surprise when Harper and Theo found Daphne and Tracey waiting for them after their morning workout. She had just showered and dressed and was surprised to find the two girls wrapped in cloaks and huddling by a conjured fire for warmth. After the usual exchange of bows and curtsies Daphne asked to be escorted for a walk before breakfast. Harper naturally agreed and they set off around the lake with Theo and Tracey following a bit behind.

"It's a bit brisk this morning, isn't it?" observed Harper.

"It's December in Scotland. It's cold. I can't believe the two of you are still doing that muggle jogging ritual every morning."

"I like it. It makes me feel alive. You should try it some time."

Daphne shuddered. "No, thank you."

Harper shrugged. "As you wish. The offer is open if you ever change your mind." Harper walked along waiting to see what was on Daphne's mind. She didn't get up early and drag Tracey down to the Quidditch pitch for fun. Obviously she wanted to have a private conversation about something.

They walked in silence for a while before Daphne spoke again. "I've been giving some thought about what you said about muggles and about possibly having political aspirations. Are the two related? Or is it something from your visions?"

How to answer that? "A bit of both."

"Are you a Dominionist then?" Daphne's usual calm expression slipped a bit.

"I don't know. I think trying to control the muggle world could be a disaster, but I'm not a Separatist. I don't think the separation between the muggle and magical worlds can be sustained. Muggle technology has just advanced too much. One major incident caught on camera and broadcast on the news before the Ministry of Magic could react could blow the existence of the magical world wide open." And the situation would get worse in years to come when cellphones with cameras and the internet became widespread. "I think it might be better to come out under our own terms, then to be outed by accident."

Daphne nodded. "You are a Domionist then. They're views aren't unified, but if you think anything other than keeping the two worlds apart is a good idea, then you're a Dominionist. When you come to my home, I suggest that you don't bring up your political views."

So that's what this walk was about. "I'll try to avoid it, but I don't want to lie to him."

"Good. Don't lie. Tell the truth, just not the whole truth. You can't lie to my father."

Harper frowned. That sounded too much like… "Is he a legilimens?"

"Yes." She was deep into her calm mask now.

Harper put two and two together and got an interesting four. If Daphne already knew occulumency, then Harper had found the tutor she needed to probe her shields. "You promised to keep my secrets. How will you do that? Do you know occulumency?"

She looked over and nodded. "A little bit. I couldn't keep my father out if he really tried, but I've become very good at half-truths. So long as neither of us give him cause, he won't force it."

"But he would force his way into my mind or yours if he thought I was a Dominionist?"

"No, not yours. At least I don't think he would, and probably not mine at least not merely for your being a Dominionist, but if you state your views strongly like you do… He might get angry. If he gets angry, then he might want a look at what I know and not just take it at my word."

Harper felt a fire burning inside her. "You sound like this has happened before. How often does your father mind-rape you?"

Daphne gasped. "It's not really like that. It's not rape. He's never laid a hand on me."

"No, he just looks at your innermost thoughts." Harper wanted to hex the man. As far as she was concerned it was rape. "So how often?"

"He doesn't do it any longer. He only did it when he caught me lying to him. It's been a year, no longer, almost two years now. I've learned to manage him. It's you that I'm worried about. If you want your secrets kept, don't provoke him."

Harry's abandonment to the Dursley's, Theo with his shaking, the bullying of Hermione, and now this. Was there any child in the wizarding world that wasn't abused? "Did he do anything else to you that I should know about?"

Daphne shook her head just a little. "I don't think that I should tell you any more. It's making you angry. It's harder to hide your thoughts when you're angry. I've got another book that might help you, it's on occulumency."

Harper almost laughed at the irony of it. "I think we should talk more about occulumency — after winter break. I've got a copy of _Voyages Within the Mind_. I've been trying to practice on my own. Maybe we can help each other get better."

A faint smile crossed Daphne's face. "I think that I would like that. Why not before winter break? You're pretty good, but I can tell there is more going on underneath than you show on your face. I can probably help you tighten your shields."

Daphne sounded sincere, but they only had two weeks until end of term. Harper had no clue how Daphne would react to finding out that she was really a girl named Harper Potts. "It's a risk either way, but I think it better to wait. If we help each other, you'll learn things about me. I'd rather it not be just before you meet your father."

"Are your secrets really so terrible?"

Harper needed something to get Daphne to back off. She had an idea, but she hesitated. It meant using Harry's pain again for her gain. However, she didn't have another idea. "You asked me what it was like growing up with muggles. There are more good muggles than bad muggles, but my aunt and uncle were bad, very bad. I have the scars to prove it."

"Oh, I understand now, Mr. Potter." She looked away for a moment. When she looked back her mask had slipped a little. There was sadness in her eyes. "Mr. Potter… Harry… I hate to ask, but could I tell my father about your muggle family? Just what you told me now, nothing specific, but if I don't give him something, my father will pry. It's better to give him that unpleasantness about your childhood than even hint at your dreams or your politics."

Harper resolved that she would claim Daphne as a member of House Potter when she was old enough. Not that she would marry Daphne, but she would get her away from her father. "If you tell him, would he make it public? It might not go over very well in the wizarding world if they found out that 'the-boy-who-lived' was mistreated by his muggle family. Won't that help prove the Separatist's point that muggles and wizards shouldn't mix?"

"Hmm… It is a risk. It doesn't feel like my father's style, but it is a risk. However, let me take a page from your argument earlier. It is very likely to come out sooner or later. If it is to come out, it will do less damage to any future political career if it came out now. Besides, he'd want me to dig for more details."

Her gut told her that Daphne was being honest, but she wasn't comfortable with the scheming. Daphne did it so well. Was it really a good idea to leak secrets to her father? How far could she really trust Daphne? "So you think that I should feed him little bits about my childhood to keep him away from my real secrets?"

"Yes, a good way to hide a big secret is to reveal a little one."

Doubt nagged at her. "And you're willing to take my side and fool your own father?" A father that mind-raped her, but still...

Daphne frowned and the bit of emotion fled leaving a cold and offended ice princess. "I said that I would keep your secrets. I didn't swear an oath, but I owe you my life and I gave you my word. So yes, even from my father."

Harper felt guilty for doubting Daphne, but wasn't sure it was entirely unmerited. However, if she was going to practice occulumency with her, then this was a drop in the bucket. "Okay, Daphne. You can let him know that the Dursleys didn't treat me very well. We'll talk about other details later…" Time to change the subject. "So, it is almost Christmas. How much should I spend on gifts for Christmas and who should I buy gifts for?"

"Well, Mr. Potter." Daphne may have shifted back into her formal mode, but there was a bit of teasing in it. "Something small for your dormmates, sweets most likely. You can get quite a few for less than a galleon. You'll want to spend more on Theo and Blaise, as much as a galleon, but more than ten would be excessive. You had better not spend more on that Granger girl than you do on me!"

"Daphne, you know we're not dating."

"Mr. Potter, we're spending time together and we might get married some day in the far future. What else would you call it?"

Harper sighed. Daphne unfortunately had a point. Since Harper wasn't ready to come out as Harper Potts yet, there was really no way to argue it.


	33. Chapter 33 - Yuletide

Yuletide

The end of term was marked by the annual Yule Ball for fourth years and up. It amused Harper that there was such a big to-do made of that one particular dance in the books. In the Hogwarts she attended the Yule Ball was one of five major dances held during the year: Welcome, Halloween, Yule, Spring and Beltane. That wasn't something that she would have to worry about until the Spring Dance in her third year which would be the first she could attend.

While most of the other students and professors left, Harper stayed behind in an almost empty castle. She took advantage of the almost empty library to do some reading, studied ahead and spent some time with the Pomfreys, Octavia and Myrtle. The Pomfreys were impressed with her grades and Steven helped her with some pointers. Octavia wasn't too helpful, but Harper felt like she'd abused their friendship and tried to repair it.

Working with Myrtle was interesting. Myrtle had been in her fourth year when she'd been murdered and had taken almost two years of Ancient Runes. She also really got a kick about trying to study the _Book of the Dead_, a book which most ghosts feared. Harper had to turn the pages for her, but Myrtle found it very interesting. Unfortunately Myrtle's help was limited because Egyptian hieroglyphs weren't covered until 5th year in Ancient Runes, not to mention that the book was filled with so much mysticism that it was difficult to sort the religion from the magic. However, Myrtle did find something that Harper hadn't. The purpose of mummification was to bind the soul to the corpse until it could be born again. The apparent goal wasn't moving to the afterlife, but resurrection. To Harper it sounded very much like a mummy was a variation of a horcrux.

Monday was more pleasant company than Moaning Myrtle and the _Book of the Dead_. Harper spent it Christmas shopping with Hermione. The joint shopping trip had arisen when Harper asked to go shopping in London without Poppy. While her foster mum had been willing to take her, Harper didn't think Poppy had a clue as to what shopping a few days before Christmas would be like in the muggle world. Harper had brought the problem up with Hermione and between the two of them they had worked out a plan and sold it to their parents. Poppy and Mrs. Granger would both escort them. Even though she was looking forward to a fun outing, she still had a plan for the day.

So they all met up in the morning at the Leaky Cauldron for tea and scones. Michelle Granger, turned out to be a very pleasant woman with dark brown hair, bright green eyes and a fair complexion. She was a tall and quite a bit prettier than Harper had expected for a dentist. She was also highly curious about the wizarding world. Fortunately she directed most of her curiosity towards Poppy Pomfrey.

Harper planned to do most of her shopping in muggle London. She picked up some magical candies at Sugar Plum's Sweet Shop. She also picked up some crackers and other gag gifts that were popular at Gambles and Japes. She also got some Magi-Me-More pills for Steven Pomfrey. The big stop was Obscurus Books, but it was a bit confusing. Naturally Hermione wanted books for Christmas, but her mother wanted to maintain the pretense of them being gifts. So Hermione had to pick out a stack of books which her mother reviewed with Poppy to select which were appropriate. Harper was supposed to do the same, but she took advantage of the distraction to slip off and buy a few books that she didn't think would make it past the parental censorship: two books on occulumency and three books on hexes, curses and jinxes. The clerk gave her a curious look, but checked her out. As soon as she was done, Harper stuffed them in her bag and went back to picking out 'interesting' titles. She soon had a small stack of books mostly focused on dueling.

Shopping in muggle London two days before Christmas was every bit as crowded as she'd feared it would be. She was so glad they had Mrs. Granger along because Poppy was clearly overwhelmed. This is where Harper got most of her real gifts. She purchased calligraphy pen sets for everyone. For Theo she also bought several books about muggle astronomy as well as one that featured color photos from the moon landings and space probes sent to the planets. She also got purchased him a large poster from the moon showing a half-full Earth in the background. For Blaise she picked out a copy of _The Prince _by Niccolò Machiavelli. Daphne was the hardest one to shop for. It would have been easy to get her some jewelry, but Harper didn't want to send the wrong message. Instead she picked out a music box, the kind used by children to hold small amounts of jewelry. Harper had something like it when she'd been younger and she hoped that it would hit the happy medium for Daphne: nice, but not too nice. Harper also picked up some items to help her exercise plan: some books, a set of weights and new jogging shoes.

Mrs. Granger was intrigued by those purchases. "So you're doing this all on your own? Isn't there any physical fitness program at Hogwarts?"

Harper shook her head. "None really, not unless you count broom racing, Quidditch or such. They're good magical exercise, but not so much physically."

Hermione's mother didn't look happy. "I have to say that I'm surprised. Poppy, you're a nurse. Aren't wizards aware of the many benefits of exercise?"

"Some of us in the medical professions are aware and Aurors go through a demanding physical training program, but as a whole we don't focus on it as much. Our personal magic tends to keep us healthy. For most the rigor of an exercise regimen is simply too much work."

"I see." Mrs. Granger's tone clearly conveyed that she did not approve. "Harry, I encourage you to keep up with your fitness plan. I'm afraid that I didn't take care of myself until later in life. It's good to start young." Her gaze shifted to Hermione. "And young lady, it wouldn't do you any harm to join him. In fact, I think we should pick out some exercise clothes and shoes while we're here."

Hermione waited until her mother's back was turned before whispering at him. "Thanks a lot, Harry. She's not going to drop this."

The rest of the shopping went fairly smoothly and Harper counted it a victory. She also hoped it would set the stage for later visits with the Grangers. She liked the freedom she had alone at Hogwarts, but she was still trying to arrange an unsupervised excursion to Diagon Alley and that was hard to manage from Hogwarts. For now she hoped she had some interesting gifts from the muggle world that would surprise her friends.

Once the shopping, wrapping and shipping by owl post was done, the Pomfreys packed up for travel. They took a international portkey to France. The Pomfreys had lost their son during the rise of Grindelwald and their daughter had married a French wizard and settled south of Paris. Poppy and Steven had three grandchildren in their twenties and one great-grandchild who was still a toddler. For Harper it was a little overwhelming to be surrounded by a family again. There was no one who was near her own age, but there was a huge difference between family and roommates. The Pomfreys youngest grandchild, Andre, was twenty-one and decided to basically adopt Harper as a younger brother. As the older 'brother' he felt it was important that young Harry master the most important skill for a wizard — broom riding. Andre wasn't quite as Quidditch crazy as Ron Weasley, but he had Harper out flying most of the time. The rest of the time, Harper ate, sang carols, and generally had an enjoyable Yuletide. Harper felt guilty that the vacation was cut short due to her, but a few days after Boxing Day they packed up and returned to England so she could keep her meeting with the Greengrass family.

Harper was more than a bit nervous to be facing Lord Roman Greengrass again. He had been intimidating enough when she'd met him in the hospital wing. That was before she knew that he was an accomplished legilimens. She knew that she would have Poppy with her and she should be safe, but she was more worried that a mistake would result in Daphne being punished and/or mind raped when she left. She reminded herself to be polite and respectful.

Poppy apparated them just outside the Greengrass home. They knocked on the door and were admitted by a house elf and shown to a sitting room. The inside of the Greengrass home betrayed great wealth. The walls were covered in portraits and artwork. The tapestries and rugs were richly done. The whole home was well-lit and comfortably warmed without the benefit of muggle central heat. In fact it was warmer than Hogwarts which was quite drafty in places. However, despite the light and warmth and there was presence about the house that felt wrong to Harper. It was like being around Moaning Myrtle or inside the Chamber of Secrets. She hesitated to name the presence as evil, but there was at least a dark feeling to the home. No matter how large and fancy it was, she couldn't imagine having to grow up in such an environment.

Several large and comfortable chairs around a coffee table filled the sitting room. Bootsie, the house elf brought out a tea service. Before the house elf could pour the tea Lord Greengrass swept into the room with Daphne trailing a few steps behind him. They exchanged bows and curtsies before sitting.

"Mrs. Pomfrey, I'm so delighted that you were able to bring Mr. Potter to visit. I have been looking so very forward to meeting him. I'm afraid I've heard little from my daughter and I don't put much stock in rumors."

Poppy smiled, but Harper knew her well enough to know she was in her professional mode. "A very commendable attitude, Lord Greengrass. As a healer I have to deal in facts."

"Quite." He offered Poppy a smile and then turned to Harper. "So, tell me a bit about yourself. I hear that in addition to besting a troll and saving my daughter's life that you managed to get the Hogwarts Dueling Club restarted. Tell me about that."

This felt safe enough. "You give me too much credit. I had a lot of help and support from Theodore Nott. I'm sure you know that Theo's father, Lord Nott, competed in the dueling circuit. I also have to give credit to Professor Flitwick. To be honest I think he just needed an excuse to start the club."

"Such modesty. Lord Nott was indeed a powerful duelist, but I've met his son. I don't believe for a moment that he was the driving force. So it appears that we have you to thank for restoring an ancient Hogwarts tradition. I'm quite pleased at that."

Harper shrugged. "I probably pushed more than Theo did, but without his support the Dueling Club wouldn't exist. So I have to share credit."

"There is certainly plenty of credit to go around. It is still quite the accomplishment. In my opinion the club should never have been allowed to disband. So, how do you find your classes? Daphne tells me that you are ahead in all of them. Are they not challenging enough?"

"I study ahead and Professor Snape certainly gives me plenty of challenge in Potions. Your daughter provides a challenge as well. She gets better marks in Potions than I do."

Lord Greengrass inclined his head slightly. "So I've been told. Although it appears that you are being judged on a stricter standard."

Harper wondered where Lord Greengrass was going. Was he digging for dirt on Snape? Harper was certainly not one to cover for the greasy-haired git. "Perhaps I am held to a higher standard for a Slytherin, but I'm still treated a lot better than anyone not wearing green and silver. Professor Snape obviously favors Slytherin house over the others."

"Interesting. It sounds like you disagree. Where is your house loyalty?"

Harper considered backing off, but screw it. She'd try to the truth and see what happened. "I think Slytherin's reputation has suffered greatly because of Professor Snape. His favoritism is obvious to everyone. It hurts Slytherin and it hurts Hogwarts. Did you know that he deliberately withholds valuable instructions to students of other houses? There are 'study notes' that are only found in the library of Slytherin house."

"You're very honest with your opinion. Have you shared your views with the Potions Master?"

Harper chuckled. "No, I'm not seeking detention."

"You might want to temper your opinions, Mr. Potter. I might have been a friend of Severus Snape. I'm not, but you have no way of really knowing that."

Harper glanced over to Daphne. She was keeping silent and her face betrayed nothing. Poppy wasn't as stone faced. She was watching and gave a little shake of her head. Harper looked back to Lord Greengrass. Was that a warning, a lesson, or maybe a threat? "If we're going to know one another, I cannot just talk about the weather. If such a small thing as a dislike for a certain professor would offend you, better I should know now."

"Ah, better than I thought then."

Now Harper tried to think about nothing. In truth she hadn't been that clever. She'd just hadn't been able to resist running Snape down. "I may have a personal bias as well."

"I see. At any rate Snape is well-protected by Dumbledore. Even if we had common ground there is little that I could do to harm him."

"I'm not so sure about that. I suspect, Lord Greengrass, that if you looked at the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. level scores for potions, you would find that they have decreased for Hogwarts over the pass few years under Snape's tenure. Unless I'm mistaken a strong N.E.W.T. in Potions is required for certain professions that are very necessary to magical England such as Aurors and Healers."

Lord Greengrass betrayed a bit of emotion for the first time. He looked interested. "Yes, you're right. I might be able to do something with that. I'm not on the board of governors for Hogwarts, but I know people who are."

Poppy looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Professor Snape is a Potions Master."

Harper looked at his foster mum. "Yes, he is, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is a good educator."

"Well said, Mr. Potter," said Lord Greengrass. "You've raised an interesting point. What do you think of your other instructors?"

Harper wondered if she was giving ammunition to Lucius Malfoy to get Dumbledore thrown out as Headmaster, something he would try to do next year. Maybe she should back off, but… she wanted to talk about this with someone. Lord Greengrass seemed receptive. "They're a mixed bag. Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, Sprout and Sinestra all seem competent. Professor Binns is useless. He gives the same lectures year after year. There are 'study notes' with his complete lectures listed. Students in class will as a joke sometimes read them along as he drones in a boring monotone. He even gives the same tests. Worse, his subject is important. He spends all his time focusing on the Goblin Rebellions. History of Magic explains to the muggle-borns and muggle-raised how our world came to be. That is too important to let a generation of children not learn it due to one bad teacher."

Poppy frowned and sipped her tea and said nothing. Daphne was quiet as a mouse. Lord Greengrass smiled and nodded. "Valid points. You know there are those who wouldn't care, because it is the muggle-born who suffer."

"They would be wrong. Those who do not learn from history are damned to repeat the mistakes."

"Very interesting. I think I will be raising these points. Would you be interested in talking with a friend of mine who is on the Board of Governors, Lord Malfoy. I believe you know his son, Draco."

Crap. Now she stepped into it. "I'm not sure. I try to be polite to Draco and Theodore Nott is one of my friends. I try not to judge others by the sins of their fathers, but Lord Malfoy is a former Death Eater who claimed the Imperious Curse made him do it."

"True. Is that a problem?"

"Yes, Lord Voldemort killed my parents. I'm not sure I want to work with even a former Death Eater. Besides… do you really believe the Imperious Curse defense?"

Lord Greengrass shrugged. "It does seem suspect, but that doesn't matter. They were heard and acquitted by the Wizengamot. So the issue is closed. I'm afraid that when you're older and claim your title, you will discover that politics isn't like a story. The bad guys don't die at the end. They just lose a vote, and all too often some of those opposed to you on one issue will be your allies on another."

Had Daphne told him that she was considering a career in politics? Or was it just assumed because she would be Lord Potter someday? Was this advice? Or was he trying to get her to work with Lucius Malfoy. If so, it was working. She was considering it, but Malfoy…

"Tell me," said Lord Greengrass, "were you serious about the flaws in the teachers. You spoke with conviction. Is this important to you? Or were you just complaining about your teachers?"

Daphne frowned. She had just complained about teachers when she'd been Harper Potts, but none of them had been so uselessly incompetent (Binns) or actually abusive (Snape). Plus from what she'd found out Charity Burbage was just as bad at Muggle Studies and Trelawny was a joke as well. "Yes, I meant it."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Really did she have a choice? "If you'll set it up, I'll talk with Lord Malfoy."

"I'll set it up. You seem reluctant, but I am doing you a favor. I'm giving you an introduction to a powerful man and this is a cause near and dear his heart."

Was it really a favor? Or were they looking to add the weight of Harry Potter to their side? Regardless, her ultimate goal was politics and she was getting a toe in the game. "Then I thank you, for this opportunity."

Poppy didn't look happy, but Daphne gave a little nod of approval. Lord Greengrass smiled.


	34. Chapter 34 - Happy New Year

**Happy New Year**

Two days later Poppy and Harper were back at the Greengrass estate this time for a New Year's Eve party. Lord and Lady Greengrass were attending the annual New Year's Eve ball hosted by the Malfoys. Lord Greengrass had promised to speak with Lucius Malfoy at the ball. He had also invited Harper back for a smaller party that his daughter was having on New Year's Eve with her friend Tracey Davis. Harper hadn't seen any polite way to refuse. Although Lord Greengrass promised there would be adult supervision, Poppy had been invited to stay and chaperone. The conversation with Poppy after leaving the Greengrass manor before had been interesting. Poppy hadn't been happy that Harper had criticized the teachers, but her scolding had been weak, and she'd insisted on returning and not just dropping Harper off. Standing on the doorstep to the manor, Poppy had her professional face on.

Harper grabbed Poppy's hand before she could knock. "Poppy, I know you're not happy to be back here and you're not because you're afraid that I'll take advantage of Daphne. You're here to protect me. So thank you."

"You're welcome, Harry." She flashed a quick smile. "This is just the start. You're the heir to a noble house. I signed up for this when I agreed to become your guardian. I just wish it hadn't started with the Greengrass family. I'd be more comfortable with one of the lighter familes like the Longbottoms or the Bones, but considering the life debt you don't have much choice." She knocked.

A house elf immediately opened the door and showed them inside. "Welcome to Greengrass Manor. Lord Greengrass and his Lady Anne are getting themselves ready for the Malfoy's Ball. I is showing you to Miss Vanessa. Follows me."

The house elf led them through the large and expensively decorated house to what appeared to be a ballroom. The room was paneled in wood along three walls and the fourth was floor to ceiling glass that looked out on a balcony and to forest beyond. A parquet wooden floor matched the paneling on the walls. All of the wood was polished until it gleamed in the light of dozens of candles that floated above the room. The ballroom wasn't entirely a surprise. Daphne had sent an owl and asked that she bring her record collection along. However, the ballroom still made Harper uncomfortable. She hadn't know they were going to dance. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with dancing, but she'd never been asked to the prom or any school dance. It had been one of the things on her bucket list that she'd never crossed off before she'd died. If she was going to dance, she wanted to be the girl in the dress that was being swept off her feet. She didn't want to be playing the male part in that scenario. It also felt like more pressure from Daphne to push their 'relationship' into boyfriend/girlfriend space.

In one corner Harper spotted Daphne sitting at a table with Tracey, a blonde girl that was probably Daphne's sister, and a dark-haired boy. However the house elf led them to a dark-haired, witch who stepped up to greet them. To Harper's eyes she looked to be twenty-something, but she knew that could be deceiving. The witch wore a dark green gown with red trim that seemed quite in keeping with the holidays. The gown was also exposing a great deal of cleavage, more than Harper had seen from any pureblooded witch before. "Welcome to Greengrass Manor. I'm Wardmistress Vanessa Eggleton. I'll be your hostess tonight."

Poppy did the introductions, but oddly she barely curtsied at all to the wardmistress. Harper wondered what was going on. That wasn't the etiquette that Poppy had taught. "Are those children drinking champagne? I think that my ward is a little young."

"Oh, it's not champagne. It's sparkling apple cider. It's a muggle drink, something non-alcoholic that still fizzes like champagne. I thought they might enjoy it."

"I see. That is acceptable then. May I inquire as to the plan for the evening?"

"Oh, it's a typical party." The wardmistress waved a hand around. "We'll let them eat and talk. Afterwards they can listen to music and maybe dance. I'm told that your ward has an extensive collection of muggle music. I'm looking forward to hearing it. I adore muggle music, but I've never been able to get Daphne or Tori to take an interest in it. At a quarter 'till midnight we need to head outside. We have a spell display to set off that light up the sky and countdown to the new year. I've a few party games prepared in case they need a little nudge, but as long as they are getting along, I'm content to leave them to their own devices."

Poppy nodded. "So just the two of us supervising then?"

"Us and the house elves. I'm sure Lord and Lady Greenglass will stop by on their way out. You don't even have to stay."

"No, no." Poppy shook her head. "I'll help chaperone this small affair."

"Right." Vanessa Eggleton turned to Harper. "So, follow me over and I'll do the introductions."

Harper followed. As she had expected the younger blonde girl was Daphne's sister, Astoria. The two sisters were dressed in matching dark green gowns. Daphne's had a fine red floral pattern embroidered into it. Astoria's had red panels in her skirt and matching red gloves. Harper was catching on pretty quick that dark green and bright red were the Greengrass colors.

"And this is my son, Andrew." She nodded to a boy that was wearing a dress robe of dark green with red trim. "You may have met him already. He is in his third year in Ravenclaw."

Andrew bowed and smiled. "We haven't talked, but I've seen you about, mostly at the Dueling Club. Brilliant job getting it started again. I'm participating for Ravenclaw. I'm planning to try for the sliver rung soon. Maybe we could do some friendly practice later."

"Sure!" Anything but dancing. She didn't think she could escape it, but she really didn't want her first dance to be as a boy. "Let's eat and talk first and then I'll give it a go."

Wardmistress Eggleton gave a small curtsey. "Now enjoy yourselves. I'll be about and so will Nurse Pomfrey. If you're interested, I have a few games planned, but you're mostly on your own. Happy New Year to you all."

Harper watched her go, helped herself to a plate and then sat down with everyone. "So I think I missed something in my lessons. I get that dark green and red are the House Greengrass colors, but why are Eggleton in his mother wearing the house colors?"

"That's because we're retainers of House Greengrass. Technically my mother is a retainer. As a minor I'm considered part of the family until I get my majority. Then I either pledge to Lord Greengrass, or I'm on my own."

"Alright, I guess that makes sense. I just never heard of retainers before. Is it common?"

"It depends on the wealth and power of the house," explained Daphne. "We just have the wardmistress and Hugh Tullet. He runs our mortuary businesses."

Harper blinked. "You family runs a mortuary?"

"Several actually. One on the wizarding side and several on the muggle side. It's quite profitable. We're one of the few ethical places to obtain human components needed in some potions and rituals."

She'd been telling herself that the Greengrass family wasn't necessarily dark, but this was disturbing. "You sell people parts?"

Daphne had her ice princess face on. "Yes, but it is all ethical and above the board. We comply with both wizarding and muggle laws. Wizards generally won't sell the corpses of their loved ones, but poor muggles will. They believe that they are selling the bodies for 'science', which means they would be used apprentice muggle healers for practice. We can't break the statutes of secrecy and tell them that the bodies are being rendered for potion and ritual ingredients, but is it really any different?"

Harper frowned. "I'm having a hard time arguing with you, but it feels wrong."

"I understand muggle healers rip organs out of corpses and sew them into other people to save lives. Some of human components we sell go into potions used at St. Mungo's to save lives. Is there really that big a difference?"

Harper nodded reluctantly. While she had terminal cancer, she'd known other children at St. Jude's that had been cured by transplants. She had envied them. "I suppose there isn't. It was just surprising."

Astoria frowned. "Mummy says that most wizards don't want to know where human components come from, but that we should never be ashamed of what we do. We're not murderers or grave robbers."

"So… now you know about the Greengrass family business," said Tracey. "What did you get for Christmas? I loved the calligraphy pens you gave me and I really appreciate the sweets."

Everyone gladly followed Tracey's shift in conversation to Christmas gifts. Tracey had received art supplies, Astoria an enchanted doll, and Eggleton books. Daphne gushed about the music box she'd received. "The music box was so darling. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't even know what to call it or the tiny dancer until Andrew's mother explained. I simply love it!"

Harper was amused and relieved that such a simple muggle toy could please the witch. However, before she could reply Lord and Lady Greengrass made their appearance. Lady Greengrass turned out to be a stunningly beautiful blond who looked to be a few months pregnant. She trailed along behind her husband. Lord Greengrass kissed his daughters, punched Eggleton in the shoulder. "Now behave everyone and don't stay up too late. Mr. Potter, I should be able to have that conversation tonight. Good night all and Happy New Year." Lord Greengrass headed out the door with his wife on his arm. Wardmistress Eggleton followed him out and returned a few minutes later.

Harper lingered over her food as long as she could and talked to the girls. In the process he learned that Tracey was really into art and was considering becoming a magical artist capable of creating animated paintings. Somehow he'd gone through several months with her at Hogwarts without learning that. He also learned that Astoria wasn't near as controlled as Daphne. She acted more like a child of nine. Eggleton wanted to talk dueling. After a while he suggested dueling for fun and practice. As the alternative being pushed by the girls was music and dancing, Harper was eager to join in.

"But what about the restrictions on underage wizardry?"

"Pish posh." Andrew waved the objection away. "Greengrass manor is well-warded. Have you forgotten already that my mother is a wardmistress? Nothing magical happening here will set off any detection alarms."

Harper had suspected that warded homes allowed pureblood children to get a start on practicing magic early, but this was proof. The restrictions on underage wizardry basically worked to give the children of pureblood families an unfair advantage. "All right, let's do it then."

Wardmistress Eggleton interrupted. If there was going to be dueling, she wanted proper dueling wards established to protect the walls and spectators. She marked a circle in chalk on the floor and then added drew several runes around the circumference of the circle using her wand. After she etched the runes, she called out some words that didn't sound like the usual magical pig latin and a glowing bubble flashed into existence before fading to invisibility.

"Wow, so that's warding." Harper couldn't help but be impressed. It was the first time she'd ever seen runes used in magic. "I'm so taking Ancient Runes in third year." Although one thing did puzzle her, since runes seemed to be very good at making protective wards, why hadn't Bathsheda Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor, done something to protect the stone?

She put those doubts aside to duel with Eggleton. He had two years on her, so she was expecting to lose fairly quickly. They bowed and cast. The weak red beam of Harper's _Stupefy_ broke upon the solid silver of Eggleton's _Protego_. The Shield Charm was the anchor of Silver Rung dueling. A good shield would block most weak hexes. Harper had a choice, smash it down with repeated hexes or get clever.

Harper opted for clever. "_Aguamenti!_" A spray of water from her wand splashed upon Eggleton's shield.

The shield charm would block solid objects including a spray of water instead of just curses, but it turning aside a harmless spray of water drained it down fast. Eggleton kept his up for a while before dropping and casting, "_Stupefy_!" His red beam was weak, but it didn't flicker at all.

Harper was already moving and casting. "_Manipulus Wibbly_!" Unfortunately her Jelly-Arms Jinx splashed on another Shield Charm from Eggleton. That set the tone for the duel. Eggleton favored the turtle strategy, trying to wear down his opponent by keeping up a good shield. The idea was to magically exhaust your opponent and then take them down when they didn't have enough energy to cast. That would probably have worked against most first years, but Harper was pretty sure she had more innate power than most other wizards and she had been exercising her magic daily. She returned fire with _Aguamenti_ and_ Stupefy_. Eggleton would put up shields and she would knock them down. Harper had no idea which of them would tire first until Eggleton's shield cracked and he didn't put it back up.

"_Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!_" Harper cast and cast again feeling a second wind now that Eggleton was weakening. Individually her stunners were weak. A properly cast Stunning Spell should knock an adult out. Harper's first spell merely staggered Eggleton, the second missed, but the third knocked him on his ass. He seemed dazed so she called "_Expelliarmus!_" and snagged Eggleton's wand out of his hand.

"Harry Potter wins," announced Wardmistress Eggleton.

Eggleton shook off the stunner after a few moments. He pushed himself up and bowed. "Good duel. You hit pretty hard for a first year."

Now that the duel was over fatigue crept over Harper like a heavy blanket in a warm bed. "You just need to work on your offense and you're dodging. I think you would have had me, if you hadn't turtled. I didn't cast a single shield." It was true and since she'd just kicked Eggleton's ass in his own home and in front of his mother, she wanted to let him save face. She offered him her hand to shake. "Good duel, Andrew."

They shook. "Call me, Eggy, everyone does."

Harper was pretty pleased at herself. She still couldn't manage a proper Stunning Spell to take out Pettigrew, but beating a third year was no small feat. Eggy might have won with different tactics, but she'd still come out on top. Plus she was tired enough that she didn't have to think about dancing for a while.

Since they had a dueling ward set up, Tracey and Daphne decided to have a go at each other. Since neither of them could manage a Shield Charm, their duel was all offense and dodging. They carried on a few passes and then Tracey zigged when she should have zagged and got hit by a Stuttering Jinx. Any jinx that prevented you from enunciating a spell correctly was pretty much game over in a bronze ring duel. Stronger opponents learned to throw off minor hexes, but Tracey was out of it. After being unable to complete two spells she curtsied and conceded.

"I think that's enough dueling for a while," decided their hostess. "I've been interested in seeing this record collection of Harry's. Would you mind bringing it out? Then you can sit and talk for a while."

Harper knew this would inevitably lead to dancing. That frustrated her to no end. She was no closer to resuming her true gender, but she wanted her first real dance to be in a dress. However, there was no reasonable way to say no, so she brought her albums. "It's all muggle stuff, so I'm not sure how well they'll go over."

"I'm sure they'll be fine dear." Poppy spoke up. She had drifted over and was hovering close by, but seemed to be keeping her distance from Wardmistress Eggleton. "I thought some of the Beatles songs were nice."

"Oh, good choice!" exclaimed their hostess. "They're musical geniuses. Do you have the Sgt. Pepper?"

The Beatles were okay in Harper's opinion, even great in their time, but she would have preferred something more modern, but she was stuck in the 1990s. What was more surprising to her was that their hostess, someone skilled enough to be called a Wardmistress whatever that meant, was almost being a fangirl about them. "I take you know the Beatles?"

"Know them? I've saw them perform live at least a dozen times. I cried the day John died."

"Right…" She didn't look old enough to be a Beatlemaniac, but then witches and wizards did age more slowly. "Very well, Sgt. Pepper it is."

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band received mixed reviews, but other albums followed. For a while they listened, but Harper was unsurprised when Daphne insisted on something they could dance to. "That's fine by me, but I'm afraid that I can't dance, at least not the kind of dances that you're expecting." She could probably manage standing in one place and swaying and had actually taken a few years of ballet in a previous life, but that was B.C., before cancer, and now it was A.D., after death.

"I'm sure that with Nurse Pomfrey, our wardmistress, Tracey, Tori and myself, that we can together coach you to dance."

"I'm sure you're right." She reluctantly got to her feet. This felt like a huge surrender in the unseen battle to retain what little femininity that she had left. She just didn't see any way out of this without being rude. However, she wasn't going to give Daphne the pleasure of her first dance. "Poppy, could you please help me out?"

Harper's ballet lessons had ended years ago and ballroom dancing was completely different, but it wasn't that hard to pick up. Poppy was kind, considerate and a good teacher. She didn't complain when Harper made mistakes and soon coached her into a simple waltz. "Relax Harry, you're doing just fine. Maybe you should try with someone more your height now."

Harper turned to the waiting girls. Eggy was dancing with Tracey and they both obviously knew how to dance. Harper knew that Daphne was expecting to be asked to dance, but she wasn't at all happy with Daphne for forcing this upon her. So instead she asked Astoria. "Tori, would you give me the honor of a dance?"

After taking Astoria around the dance floor, she asked Tracey for the next dance, but Tracey declined. She obviously had no choice. "Daphne, would you care to dance."

Daphne curtsied. "I'd be honored, Mr. Potter."

Harper took her hand and waltzed her around the floor. She was stiff and she knew it, but the only thing running through her mind was that she wanted to be the girl in the pretty dress. Instead she was the guy.

Daphne was an excellent dancer partner, moving lightly on her feet. "Mr. Potter, is there something wrong?"

Still counting time and moving, Harper thought about what to say. She should be polite, but she was just too bitter. "This isn't how I pictured my first dance, Daphne. I thought it would be special."

Daphne stiffened in her arms. "So I'm not special? I'm not good enough for the great Harry Potter? Is it the Granger girl?"

"It's not the Granger girl. That's not what I meant." Harper knew she was being harsh, but this hurt more than she expected. "I don't want a girlfriend. Not you and not Hermione either. I feel pushed and manipulated. I wasn't ready for this."

"I see." She followed in time, no longer so responsive. "No, I don't see. This isn't a ball and I'm not your date for the evening. We're not of age. This was supposed to be fun. If you didn't want to dance, why didn't you say so?"

"I was trying to be polite."

"Well, you're not succeeding!"

Harper had no answer. She couldn't very well tell Daphne that she wanted to be a girl. So she sucked it up, finished the dance and then excused herself to go to the restroom. She wanted to have a good cry, but she settled for splashing some water on her face. Then she went back and pretended not very convincingly that she was enjoying the party. She danced with all the girls several times. No one except Daphne seemed to notice she was sulking inside.

At a bit before midnight they went outside and Wardmistress Eggleton set off the spell display. It was a packaged illusion that featured brave wizards wearing dark green robes fighting a battle against an array of magical creatures. Just at the stroke of midnight the final foe, an illusionary dragon was blasted into bits in a bright explosion of colors to the tolling of bells. Tracey, Daphne and Astoria hugged. Eggy wished everyone a Happy New Year. Harper did not kiss Daphne. The light show had been pretty impressive, but the best part of it was that after it was done, she got to leave.


	35. Chapter 35 - Resolutions

**Resolutions**

When she woke New Year's morning Harper knew that she would have to make an effort to mend bridges with Daphne. Still, she was glad that Daphne and her classmates wouldn't return for a few days. While she had been rude, she wasn't over it enough yet to apologize. Poppy and Steven asked her about New Year's resolutions. She told them something about studying hard which satisfied them, but she didn't tell them about her new resolution to herself — become a girl in body as well as mind.

It wasn't that she hadn't thought about regaining her femininity before. It was just that everything else had felt more urgent. It had taken Daphne's party to realize that she was in danger of losing her true gender. So she made the most of her unsupervised days to search the Hogwarts library for any means to change her gender. While she didn't find transgendered in the card catalog it wasn't hard to find some information about gender swapping and it was mostly the same thing she had found out in the summer. There were no simple spells that would let her change gender. In her books of curses she did find a hex that would grow breasts on a boy, but like most hexes it was intended to humiliate the victim and didn't last very long. Polyjuice would allow her to become a girl again for a short while, but according to _Moste Potente Potions_ the duration of a Polyjuice Potion was significantly reduced when the used cross-gender.

She read skimmed several books on witch magic. There seemed to be a general belief that wizards were better at combat magic and curses while witches were better at healing. However, the books aimed directly at girls were spells and potions for cooking, sewing, enchanting clothes, cleaning and beauty magic. From Harper's perspective these were all gender prejudice. They didn't flat out say that witches should be at home raising kids, but they sure implied it. At least Hogwarts only had the books in the library and didn't try to force witches into some wizarding version of home economics. She did find some magic that was for girls only, but fertility potions, contraceptive spells, and a blood absorption charm to control a witch's menstrual flow would not help her become a girl again.

Her best hope seemed to be human transfiguration. The magic was straightforward enough. It would even be taught at Hogwarts by McGonagall in sixth year. It basically let any wizard duplicate the abilities of a metamorphmagi like Tonks with a wand and much effort. Just a light skim through the books showed that male to female transfigurations were possible. She would never be able to bear children, but with five years of applied effort, she would be able to take on a female form again. Although she was determined to do it in less than five years. If Peter Pettigrew could manage the animagus transformation while still at Hogwarts, then she should be able to manage a male to female self transformation before sixth year. Up until now she had been working ahead on all her courses equally. Harper decided it was time to change that and put an increased focus on transmutation. She also set herself the intermediate goal of becoming an animagus. That was a good idea anyway. History had a habit of repeating. While she planned to avoid being tied and wandless in a graveyard at the end of fourth year, being an animagus was a good back-up plan.

Not surprisingly the books for the animagus transformation were in the restricted section. That didn't worry Harper too much. She was still on her first year transfiguration book. For now she would just make transfiguration her most important course and push her way through it faster. Next time she was in Diagon Alley, she'd could slip away and buy what she needed at Obscurus Books. If that didn't work out, she'd try to pressure Octavia again. Until then she would practice transfiguration

Not that she spent all her time with transfiguration. She read her muggle exercise books and tried out the weight sets she'd received for Christmas. The muggle books on exercise made it clear that running was good for you, but weight lifting was better at building total fitness. The books did not say that lifting weights was boring as hell. Harper loved to go jogging. It made her feel alive, which is something her exercise books called the runner's high, caused by a release of endorphins. She didn't get the same kind of joy out of lifting weights. Nor was she particularly interested in cultivating manly muscles. After all she planned to be a girl again. The weights seemed to be a bad choice for her. If electronic devices worked at Hogwarts she would have tried aerobics, but without a work-out video just jumping around didn't work for her either. In the end she decided to stick with what worked for her. Jogging made her feel alive. Once the lake got warm enough, maybe she would alternate swimming and jogging. It just might come in handy during the Tri-Wizard Tournament in a few years.

Before she knew it the holidays were over and everyone was back for the new term. She moved back into the Slytherin rooms and tried to fit in again. It was good to see Theo again and Hermione, but dealing with Daphne was just awkward. However, to her surprise Daphne sought her out on the second morning following one of her jogs.

In what was becoming a familiar ritual she walked along the lake with Daphne at her side while Theo and Tracey followed behind. "So, what do I owe the honor of your company, Miss Greengrass?"

Daphne tugged her cloak about her. "You used to call me Daphne."

"And you used to call me Harry." Harper kicked herself mentally. She needed Daphne's friendship to practice occulumency and she was being an ass. She was supposed to apologize.

"I talked to my mum. She explained some things about boys and girls. Not the Talk. We had that already. This was more about timing. She explained that girls mature more gradually, like a stroll along a path. We go from indifferent, to curious, to hesitant to interested. Where boys mature more suddenly. You stay clueless for years and then switch to randy like jumping in a lake."

Harper felt very amused. Having been a girl, she had a good perspective of both sides of the fence. "I think I get your drift, but I'm not clueless. I'm aware of the possibilities in the future, but I'm not interested in them today."

Daphne nodded. "Mum said that Daddy was trying to force things. I suppose that I was as well. That doesn't mean that I forgive you for being rude, but I'm sorry for pushing."

"Apology accepted." Honestly she was shocked that Daphne apologized first. Harper hadn't dated, but she'd seen enough to know how the dating game worked. The boy was always wrong. The girl was always right. After Daphne's apology, she felt like she was the one who had been a jerk. "I'm sorry that I was rude. I didn't mean to be. I felt like I had no choice, and I don't like that."

"No choice? Try walking in my shoes for a few miles. I had very little choice before and while I'm grateful to you for saving my life, I have fewer choices now. You're not helping, Harry Potter. I don't fall at your feet like Pansy, but it hurts that your first choice is obviously that Granger girl."

Harper shook her head and sighed. "It's not Hermione. I keep telling you that I'm not interested in either of you that way."

"Yeah, right." The ice princess façade was showing a lot of cracks. She looked away gazing out at the lake.

"I'm not lying to you. You're going to help me with my occulumency remember? I'm probably not going to be able to keep you out for some time. So you're going to get a good look at the real me."

Daphne looked back. "You still want to go through with that after the party?"

Harper nodded. She still wasn't sure she could trust Daphne, but she was even less sure about trusting Dumbledore. "Yes, I need to learn it. I need to master it."

Daphne giggled. "I'm not a master occulumens, but if you want my help, you'll have it."

That scared Harper because she had layers upon layers of secrets. "When can we get started? I haven't heard from your father yet about meeting with Lord Malfoy, but I expect that to happen soon."

"I'm to tell you that as well. Third Saturday in February. Lord Malfoy and my father will come to see the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch game. They'll stay after and want to talk to you then."

Harper felt relieved. "Good. That will give us some time to practice occulumency. How are we going to do it? I really don't want Theo and Tracey watching us."

"No, I don't want to do that either. Occulumency lessons are very personal. Tracey will certainly notice that I'm going off by myself, but I don't have to tell her why. Avoiding Pansy and Millie will be harder. We travel as a group for protection."

Harper thought it said a lot about Slytherin that the girls in other houses didn't feel a need to be together at all times for protection. "What if we did it early in the morning when Theo and I usually go jogging? I found out that I'm probably overexercising. Five days of aerobic exercise a week is enough. I could skip two mornings and we could do occulumency practice in one of the dungeon rooms nearby."

Daphne seemed to think about it a bit before replying. "That will work. Theo and Tracey will know we're meeting, but I think we can trust them. We'll just tell them we're both making an effort to actually get to know each other."

"In a way that will be true, but maybe we should go back to being Harry and Daphne then?"

Daphne shook her head. "You can call me Daphne, I don't mind. In fact, I like it, but I'm going to stick with calling you Mr. Potter."

"Why?"

"The formality helps me remember my place relative to you, Mr. Potter. You hold my life debt. It would be easy to forget that, but I can't afford to forget it."

Harper was a girl, but she could barely follow that logic. She could see why guys wrote off girls as incomprehensible. "Very well, then I suppose I shouldn't forget either, Miss Greengrass. Let's plan for the first one on Saturday morning. That way we won't have classes." More importantly she'd have a full day without classes to manage Daphne if she freaked out over what she was likely to see.

"Agreed, Mr. Potter."

Harper had a couple of days to reconsider and she did. She wasn't at all convinced of the wisdom of allowing Daphne Greengrass inside her head. She was taking a big risk. However, she had also learned a lesson down in the Chamber of Secrets — doing nothing was also a risk. She had known the basilisk and Quirrellmort needed to die, but she'd ignored them. Not learning occulumency was a risk. Still she had the feeling she was risking everything in just two days. It made her feel nervous and it made her feel alive.

It wasn't the first time she'd felt that way. She'd felt it heading into chemo and radiation therapy. The possibility of doom and the uncertainty of life. Just like on those occasions it made her think about what was truly important to her and the answer was her friends and family. She ate dinner with Steven and Poppy Pomfrey twice and stayed the night with them once. She sought out Myrtle in her bathroom and just talked with her for a while. She spent extra time studying with Hermione and dueling with Theo.

Hermione had spent a lot of time studying over her vacation and came back ready to compete for best student of the year. Harper was still ahead of her bushy-haired friend, but was amazed at the way Hermione was closing the gap. She also had something for Hermione. "Your mother would only let me spend so much on books for you, but I have one extra book that I wanted you to have for Christmas." She passed the book to Hermione.

"_Meditations for the Mind_? I'll certainly give it a read, but I'm not sure I believe in meditation. It all seems very unscientific to me, like divination."

Harper laughed. "Hermione, you're a witch. Magic is about as unscientific as you can get. Meditation is the cornerstone of occulemency, the art of protecting your mind from being read."

Hermione gasped. "There is magic that can read minds? Why haven't I heard of it?"

"It's called legilimency and it is illegal, but many wizards know it anyway. I've been practicing meditation for several months now. I think you'll find that it will help."

"Well, if you've tried it and it works, then I'll try."

"Thank you, Hermione." Harper didn't say it, but this was important to her, because Hermione was probably her best friend. Daphne already knew occulumency, but she wanted to tell Hermione the truth about herself someday in the near future. She tried not to lie to Hermione, but she was holding back so much it felt like lying.

On Friday morning as she walked back to the castle with Theo after their morning duel and workout out of the blue Theo asked a very interesting question, "Harry, what do you have to do to be an astronaut?"

The question took Harper completely by surprise. Theo, as pureblooded a wizard as they come, wanted to be an astronaut? "Honestly it's very difficult. You pretty much have to be a Yank or a Russian. Most astronauts, and all the pilots, come from the air forces for the respective countries. So for your best chance, you would have to join a muggle military, learn to fly muggle jets and become part of their elite forces."

Theo sighed. "Is that the only way? I keep looking at those pictures of men walking on the moon and that is what I want to do when I grow up."

Harper didn't know what to say. Cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and astronauts were all boy stuff. So in a way it made sense, but not for a wizard. Maybe it was just a phase. Then again, maybe it wasn't. At the very least Theo was her friend, so she had to take it seriously. "It isn't the only way. Just the most direct path. Not all astronauts are pilots. They send up mission specialists as well: doctors and scientists. They have to be in good physical shape and at the top of their fields. It would be possible, but really, really difficult."

"Oh, I am getting in good shape jogging with you and muggle school can't be any harder than Hogwarts can it?"

She blew out a breath. "I think muggle schools are much harder than Hogwarts. You'd have to study math and science." She had a dream herself though, curing cancer. Who was she to take away Theo's dream? "What about magic, Theo? Why can't wizards go to the moon? How high can a broom fly?"

"I don't know. Madame Hooch always says to stay low, but I think that is so we stay within the wards and muggle planes don't spot us flying around. If you fly too high that it gets cold and the air gets thin."

Harper nodded. "Yes, but does it have to be a broom to fly? I believe there are flying carpets aren't there?" For that matter Arthur Weasley enchanted a car to fly. "What if you made a closed capsule like the astronauts use to keep in air and warmth and enchanted it to fly?"

Theo's mouth dropped open. "That just might work! I think it can be done. There are reasons for brooms, they have a wooden sheath and a magical core like a wand, but other objects can be enchanted to fly."

"It will take more than that, Theo. The Apollo Project cost the Yanks billions and thousands of people working for years. Magic might make it easier, but you'll likely still need to go to muggle school. You would need to study _engineering_. That's how muggles build things with science. You would need to learn how to navigate in space and how to build a self-contained capsule that you could survive in."

He nodded his head eagerly. "Right, but the muggle stuff will be just background. I think I could sell my father on that if most of it was magical research."

"Don't underestimate muggle science. Travelling in space is dangerous…" She started to mention the movie Apollo 13 and the space shuttle disasters, but she didn't know the timing on those. Was the movie out yet? When did the space shuttles blown up? "… but if you do this, your name will go down in wizarding history like Neil Armstrong did in muggle history. It will cost money, but you know what? I'm going to be rich someday. I don't know how much money is in the Potter vaults, but I'll help back this project."

"You would do that for me? I'll need to know broom-making. That's Charms and Ancient Runes mostly, maybe Arithmancy for spell research."

Harper grinned. She was getting into this herself. Maybe it didn't have a thing to do with curing cancer, but it was another bridge between the muggle and magical worlds. "You'll need muggle math and science as well. I'll help tutor you to get you started, but you'll need to go beyond what I learned at muggle school."

The were almost at castle. Theo stopped and put an arm on Harper's shoulder. "Harry, do you really think it can be done?"

Why couldn't it? "Yes, I think it could. Brooms fly without fuel. Muggle rockets have to be so big because they have to carry tons of fuel to lift a small payload to orbit. I don't think a magically powered spacecraft would have those limitations. It will take years of hard work and a lot of risk, but yes, it can be done."

"Wow. I could go to the moon! Harry, would you come with me?"

"Theo if you get this thing to work, I'll be there with you!" Being an astronaut had never been her dream, but Theo's dream was contagious. Why not dream big?


	36. Chapter 36 - Occulumency

**Occulumency**

Harper awoke to her alarm in the darkness before dawn. She dressed quietly and slipped from her dormitory down to the Slytherin common room. The torches weren't lit so the only light was the green glow from the magical fire in the hearth. Harper warmed herself as she waited for Daphne. All in all she would rather be going jogging and dueling with Theo. She still wasn't sure how far she could trust Daphne despite the life debt. A dim light coming up the girl's stairs warned of Daphne's arrival. Moments later Daphne appeared lighting her way with her wand. Daphne Greengrass truly looked green and more than a little spooky lit by nothing but the green fire in the hearth.

She dropped a curtsey. "Good morning, Mr. Potter. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

No, she wasn't sure at all! "I need to do this, Miss Greengrass and I think you will keep my secets."

"I will." She paused. "I've been thinking. Your dreams tell you more about the future than you let on, don't they? That's why you're so anxious to learn occulumency."

"You are correct." Being friends with Hermione, who was probably a young genius, it was sometimes easy to forget that Daphne was just as exceptional. Daphne might not be behind Hermione in books smarts and theory, but what she lacked there she made up with power, skill and insight. Daphne just didn't flaunt it the way Hermione did. It didn't really surprise her that Daphne made some good guesses. "Walk with me, we can talk and find an empty room."

Daphne nodded and followed as Harper led her out of the Slytherin dorms and into the warren of empty rooms in the surrounding dungeon. She wasn't sure just what to say to Daphne, but she knew that she should say something to prepare her. "You're right about knowing more than I've said. I have layers and layers of secrets. I know you're going to find out some of them today. We can talk about whatever you see after."

"You make it sound very mysterious, but you are a riddle, Mr. Potter. You were raised by muggles, but you are a more powerful and skilled wizard than any in our year. Most of the school thinks you are dark. You're not, but you are more cunning and deliberate than any realize. I'm looking forward to getting to know the real Harry Potter."

Harper sighed. There was no real Harry Potter. She was pretty sure that Harry had died the night she became him. She'd felt no trace of soul or memories from him. Harry Potter was a lie. The truth was Harper Potts. That was a truth she hoped to keep hidden, even from Daphne but she had no idea how well her mental defenses would work. "You may be shocked. You already promised to keep my secrets. Would you give me one more promise? Whatever you learn today, you won't run off. You'll give me a chance to explain."

Daphne curtsied. "I promise. I'll let you explain. I'm looking forward to it."

"Thank you." Harper paused at a doorway and looked inside. She didn't know what the room had been used for, but it was clean and empty. "This room looks like it should do."

"As you wish. We should sit. It's easy to get so caught up in a mind that you fall over." She sank to the floor, tucked her knees under her and arranged her robes. "I might not see anything. I've never really done this before. My father had me use legilimency on him, but I could never get anything. I tried on Millie's cat, but that was just confusing."

Harper took a breath and focused her mind. She used a visualization technique, a large heavy bank vault door slamming shut around her thoughts. The locking wheel spinning and her thoughts were secure. She was scared and tried for her meditation. "Whenever you're ready."

"Right." Daphne brought out her wand. "_Legilimens!_"

Daphne's face in front her seemed to waver and vanish replaced instead by the solid bank vault door that she had visualized. It was working! Then she felt something a presence behind her and then image and image flooded her suddenly, a like channel surfing with a flood light…

… crying because she'd found clumps of her beautiful long brown hair on her pillow when she'd awakened. She'd known it was coming but… Hiding upstairs but listening as her mother and father screamed at each other downstairs. Her father had 'needs', too. There was screaming and shouting and hateful, hateful things being said and it was all her fault because she was so sick… the basilisk circling her and her hand on chicken hidden in the bag, but the monster was suspicious, so suspicious… Vernon Dursley smashing in door and her in pain and suffering but none of this was real…

The door spun in her mind, heavy steel door slamming shut pushing and closing her out. She heard the slam, smelled the metalness of it and felt alone in her mind.

Once again Daphne was in front of her. "I don't think I understood any of that. You had been cursed so your hair changed color and fell out… You were sick and they were fighting and the basilisk. Why is there a huge basilisk in your head?"

"Questions after." She'd seen things, but not the critical things. She could explain the basilisk. "Why don't you rest a bit and then we'll try again."

"I thought you we were going to talk."

"We'll talk after. If you want my secrets, you'll have take them."

Perhaps that had been the wrong thing to say because Daphne's face firmed. "In that case, I'm done resting. _Legilimens!_"

The pressure on her head and she thought of the heavy door slam it shut. Her mind was a vault. Visualize being in the vault, solid walls all around. The lights flickered…

… "Cinderella dressed in yellow went upstairs to kiss a fellow. Made a mistake and kissed a snake. How many doctors did it take? One! Two!" She kept skipping rope as the other girls counted until she made it to twelve and then tripped on the rope and she fell on her hip… Myrtle flying in to her rescue. Not silly little Moaning Murtle, but a scary ghost of vengeance… Surfing the internet, reading up on leukemia herself because no one would tell her the truth… Sitting in a real movie theater like a big girl with her parents as the lights went down and _Lilo and Stitch_ started. It was big and loud and she had popcorn… Lighting up the little stash of marijuana that Uncle Norm had slipped her. Not legal and she had to hide it from her mother, but she was dying anyway so what did it matter? When she was high the pain went away and she didn't want to throw up all the time…

… Shut the door, in a vault. "Get out!" And the door slammed shut and she was staring at Daphne Greengrass again and feeling sick. She'd seen more that time. She'd seen way too much.

Daphne's eyes were large and she looked scared. "What's going on? Those are memories in your head are of a _girl_. Who are you, really?"

The vault hadn't worked, but she knew why it failed. The first time she'd visualized a door and Daphne had come from behind. The second time she'd visualized the door and three solid walls and Daphne had entered from above. She had to visualize solid defenses all around. This was working, but Daphne was having a major freak out. "I told you that I had secrets. We'll talk about it after."

"We'll talk about it now. I don't know who or even what you are. Are you a doppelgänger? Because you're _not_ Harry Potter." Daphne had her wand gripped tightly.

"No, I'm not a doppelgänger!" Or was she? She'd heard the word before. It meant double, but not like a twin. "Um, what is a doppelgänger?"

"A body thief! It's a dark creature that takes over the life of another person."

Harper felt like Daphne had just ripped the foundations of her world out from under her again, because she was a body thief. She wasn't really Harry Potter. "These are real creatures? Are you sure they're not just stories made up when someone was caught using Polyjuice Potion or human transfiguration to disguise themselves?"

"No, they're real and they're dark. They eat people and take over their bodies and their lives. Is that what you are?" She moved her wand back towards Harper. "Who are you?"

"I'm the same person who saved you from a Mountain Troll. How do you can tell if a person is a doppelgänger?"

"Veritaserum or legilimency. "

"If legilimency could find out a doppelgänger then it would take a pretty stupid doppelgänger to invite someone to use it on them, wouldn't it?"

"Or maybe it would take a pretty clever one to have someone who owed it a lifedebt teach it occulumency." There was a palpable presence of power about Daphne now. The atmosphere felt charged like a storm brewing. "Who. Are. You?"

Harper clamped down on her thoughts. "Come find out."

"_Legilimens!_" cried Daphne.

The world faded and the vault door slammed shut. Four solid walls, steel reinforced concrete several feet thick, floors and ceiling the same.

A pounding at the door. "Who. Are. You?"

The solid vault door held. The walls held. The floor and ceiling held, but yet her name seemed to whisper within the vault. "Harper Potts." It came from nowhere and everywhere and it was impossible to deny her own name.

Daphne was in front of her, wand pointed at her face. "No more excuses. Who are you, Harper Potts? And what did you do with Harry Potter?"

Sitting on the floor without her wand in her hand and with Daphne's power crackling in the air, she didn't think she could do anything but talk. "Alright, Daphne. You win. I'll tell you, but you already know who I am. I was born Harper Potts in a world not too different from this one in the year 1997. I died in 2013 at the age of sixteen. I not a doppelgänger. At least, I don't think that I'm a doppelgänger. I died as Harper Potts, but instead of moving on, I woke as Harry Potter."

Daphne didn't look at all ready to back down. "What happened to Harry Potter?!"

Harper shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I woke up in Harry Potter's body, this body this past summer. He was badly injured. Harry lived with his Aunt and Uncle and they were very abusive. The night I woke up in Harry's body he had broken ribs and a concussion. My mouth tasted of blood and stale vomit and… there is no polite way to say this, Harry had fouled himself. When a person dies, their bladder and bowels let go. I think Harry died. His spirit moved on and for whatever reason I took his place."

"And you expect me to believe that reeking pile of dragon dung that you're shoveling at me?!" Her wand stayed aimed right at Harper.

Harper shrugged. "I know it is a lot to believe. I didn't believe it at first. There are times that I still have trouble believing it, but you looked in my head. You read my name. I'm Harper Potts, a muggle, born of muggle of muggle parents with no magical power at all. I have memories of a childhood in the muggle world with a loving mother and a father who left when times got hard. I have no memories of Harry's childhood." Except what she read in the books, but leave that out.

"Prove it!"

"You saw it in my thoughts. If you don't believe that, then what kind of proof can I offer?"

Daphne frowned. "You could let me back inside your head and this time don't try to throw me out."

Harper didn't need to think that through. "No. I trusted you far enough to practice occulumency with you, but that was different. Now way am I going to lie back and let you mindrape me."

"Mind rape? I just want to see if you're telling me the truth. I think you are a doppelgänger. This Harper Potts persona was just your last victim. Now you're pretending to be Harry Potter. I should tell Professor Snape, no I should tell my father and maybe the Headmaster."

"You think I'm a dark creature? You're the one pointing a wand at me. I'm the one who saved your life. Do I act like someone who is dark? What happened to your promise to listen to my explanations and protect my secrets?"

"I am listening! And you're not at all what you pretend to be! You're a parselmouth and you have memories of a basilisk in your mind. A basilisk! They kill with a look. Then there was that ghost. I knew there was more to you, but you are darker and more cunning than I ever imagined!"

"I'm not dark." Yet, how could she prove that. Daphne wasn't really listening. She was running on emotion and reacting. She glanced at the wand Daphne had pointed at her. Would she really use it? "If you're going to hex me, do it. I won't stop you." Harper pushed up off the floor and stood slowly giving Daphne all the opportunity in the world to hex her. She braced herself for a curse, but none came.

Daphne rose as well and lowered her wand, but didn't put it away. "You lied to me. Repeatedly. You aren't even who you claim to be. I won't turn you in or betray your secrets, but my eyes are open. I don't trust you any longer. Stay away from me. Stay away from Tracey. You can have the Granger girl. I'll be watching you now."

"I have secrets. I'd hoped that I could share them with you. I see I was wrong. Good day, Miss Greengrass." Harper turned and walked away. With each step she expected to be hit by a curse from behind, but nothing happened. She had expected Daphne to be shocked, but not like that. Hopefully Daphne would cool down given time and space and would listen. In the meantime she could look up doppelgangers in the library. Then maybe she would understand what set Daphne off so much and maybe even find out about herself.


	37. Chapter 37 - To Boldly Go

**To Boldly Go**

Harper found no mention of doppelgängers in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ or the _Monster Book of Monsters_. They were mentioned in _Dictionary of Dark Denziens_, and they sounded pretty much like Daphne described: dark creatures that stole people's lives. After spending some time in the magical creatures section he didn't learn much. They were believed to really exist and not just be wizards using Polyjuice Potion or human transfiguration. Yet, no one knew what their true form was or even if they had a true form. The eating the body of their victim was only a theory and figured more prominently in a work of fiction, _And Then There Was One_. That was a wizarding horror/detective story that featured an Auror looking hunting a doppelgänger. The creature worked its way through the detective's friends killing them one at a time until it killed everyone except the witch who was the auror's love interest and betrothed of the wizard. Only then in a climatic battle did the wizard kill the doppelgänger and even that was left open to allow a sequel. Harper wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure that Daphne had read _And Then There Was One_ at some point.

It was hard to sort the speculation from the truth, but legilimens and veritaserum had revealed that some witches and wizards weren't who they claimed to be. Harper wasn't sure what to believe. Could it be that she was Harry Potter's doppelgänger? Could all doppelgangers be souls that had been reborn into existing people? And if wizards had captured doppelgangers and interrogated them under veritaserum, why wasn't more known about them. All in all her research had raised more questions than it answered.

Harper continued to push ahead of her classmates as much as she could in all her courses, especially in Transfiguration. This meant spending more time with Hermione, but Harper considered it time well spent. They two of them complimented each other nicely. Hermione was better at theory and Harper helped her with the practical aspects. Dueling club, dueling practice and her morning workouts cut into her time, as did remedial math and science lessons for Theo.

In Harper's mind Theo should be in the sixth grade, but he lacked even a fifth grade education in mathematics. Harper gathered that some of that would be covered in Arthimancy, but from what she could tell Arthimancy was mostly focused on the magical significance of numbers and reducing spells to magic squares. Wizarding mathematics fell far short of even a muggle high school education and certainly wouldn't prepare Theo for engineering classes. Harper decided that she needed help with Theo. It took some work, but she convinced Theo to seek Hermione's help.

With a reluctant Theo at her side, Harper broached the subject to Hermione in the library. "Hermione, I need your help with something, but it needs to be kept secret."

Hermione glanced over at Theo suspiciously. "This isn't about rulebreaking or a prank is it?" While Hermione was a lot more confident and relaxed since changing houses to Ravenclaw, she remained a stickler for rules.

"No, it's not that. It's about Theo. We need your help, but it needs to be kept quiet."

Hermione looked at Theo with a bit of distaste. "Let me guess, you want my help, but you don't want your pureblood friends to know that a muggle-born is helping you. You should at least have the courage to ask me yourself instead of hiding behind Harry."

Theo shook his head. "N-no, it's not that. It isn't because you're muggle-born, not really. It's about what I want to study. I'm not good at explaining things, can I show you?"

"I suppose so." Hermione nodded suspiciously.

Theo brought out one of the books that Harper had given her for Christmas and turned to a page showing a moon landing. "I want to do that. I want to be an astronaut. I've talked with Harry and he's told me that I'll have to study _science_ and _engineering_ and to do that I have to learn maths. Harry says you're a better teacher than he is."

"Really?" Hermione looked over to Harper. "Honestly Harry, you're ahead of me in just about every class. Why do you think that you need my help?"

"Because Theo doesn't even have the math education either of us do. He knows his multiplication tables, but he is struggling with even basic division. He never even heard of long division or algebra until I told him. You know that you're better at the book learning parts. I remember my mathematics, but without muggle textbooks I'm afraid that I'm presenting it out of order and making it more confusing for him. You're aces at study plans. I'll help, but I can really use your help." Then she played the card that she thought would convince Hermione. "Besides, haven't you thought about attending university after Hogwarts?"

Hermione nodded. "I always thought that I would before I discovered that I was a witch, now I don't know. Hogwarts won't give us what we need to get into uni. If Theo wants to study engineering he'll need A-levels in more than maths."

What was an A-level? Why did the British language brain implant that she'd received translate cooties into the dreadful lurgy, but left gaps like A-level? She decided to fake it. "So you've given up on university then?"

"No, my parents are getting books that are used for home schooling. I'm going to study up some during the summers for now. I'll probably fall behind, but if I decide to go I can study up with tutors after I graduate and then take my GCSEs."

"You're going to spend your whole summer doing muggle maths and such?" asked Theo.

"Well, not my whole summer. I'll read up on magic, of course, and we're supposed to go to France."

Harper could just picture Hermione in France with her nose stuck in a math book. This was why she needed Hermione to help Theo. "If we provided the galleons, do you think that your mother would get some of those home school books for Theo?"

"I'm sure she would, and I might even help with lessons, but… why is this secret?"

"M-my father. He won't like me wanting to attend a muggle university. I'll tell him someday, but I'm not ready to tell him yet. I'd rather wait until I'm seventeen and he can't tell me what to do."

Hermione nodded. "So it isn't your prejudice. It's your father's. Alright, I'll help you and I'll keep it quiet, but you know. Although I have to tell you that it isn't easy to be an astronaut."

That's when it was Harper's turn again to explain that they wanted to explore the possibilities of using magic to get to the moon. She emphasized repeatedly that it was just a research project at this stage and they had no intention of trying anything foolish. Hermione was suspicious, but excited about the possibility of a research project, especially something that had never been done before. Two weeks later she decided that they needed their own club, the Young Astronauts. She'd made buttons with the slogan 'To Boldly Go'. It fell to Harper to explain what the slogan meant to Theo and to explain to Hermione why they couldn't make the club public without getting Theo in trouble.

Harper felt like things were really coming together. It felt like she had her own trio now: herself, Theo and Hermione. Although Theo was ever so much better than Ron Weasley. Now that Theo had his own ambitious goal, he became almost as studious as the other two members of their triad. In fact it fell to Harper to be the one who made sure they took breaks and had fun at times. Hermione resisted joining them for their morning workout, but did join in on dueling practice. They spent a good bit of time in dueling one-on-one with the odd person out being a referee and providing critique on what they cold have done better. They also engaged in some interesting three-way duels which often ended up being Theo & Hermione versus Harper.

Harper still kept in touch with her friends, particularly: Blaise, Myrtle and Octvavia, but it felt like her circle of friends had contracted. She spent most of her time with Theo and Hermione. In many ways that was a good thing as she was advancing quickly through her studies and her stunner was hitting harder all the time. _Stupefy_ was quickly becoming her signature spell. Her only real regret was that she'd seemed to have lost any chance with Daphne Greengrass. Daphne kept her distance and made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with Harper Potts.

Just before Valentine's Day Professor McGonagall asked her to stay after in Transfiguration. She was pretty sure this was about her almost falling asleep, but decided to play dumb, "Is there a problem, Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, there is. You are bored in my class. I restrained myself early in the year, because many first-year students from pureblood families come in knowing something about Transfiguration. I know Steven Pomfrey gave you some lessons. In most cases that head start all but disappears after a few weeks, but we're more than halfway through the year and I don't think I've taught you a single thing, have I?"

"I'm afraid not ma'am. I've been studying ahead as best as I can."

"You've been learning it on your own. You and Miss Granger as well. Let's see what you know." Professor McGonagall proceeded to test her on the material for the remainder of the year. She did pretty well up until the very end.

"Very well, Mr. Potter, that's enough. I can tell that we are wasting my time and yours by forcing you to the pace of the rest of the class. I can't say that I am too surprised. You are your father's son. From now on I'll be setting you separate assignments. I won't expect you to pay attention to my lectures or do the assignments that I'm setting the rest of the class, but I don't want you nodding off in my class again. When the rest of the class is working on their practical portion, you can demonstrate your personal assignments."

Harper nodded eagerly. She would get out of doing work and essays about what she already knew, and instead she could work ahead under McGonagall's supervision. This was a no brainer. "Yes, please! But what about Hermione?"

"She isn't quite as far along as you are, Mr. Potter, but I will be speaking to her and most likely she will be put on an accelerated plan as well. Do you understand that this is a privilidge?"

"I do, Ma'am, and I appreciate it." This would help her become a girl sooner! Her only complaint was that it took McGonagall half the school year to offer it. "You know ma'am, perhaps dividing students by house isn't the best division of students. If students were split by ability, then the pace of the courses wouldn't have to be set to the slowest students."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "You have a point, Mr. Potter, but I've had other students with a head start, but very few of them manage to keep it. Perhaps if we had more students we could divide students into normal, advanced and remedial. It's still a point to ponder. Now, as to what I expect from you next lesson…"


	38. Chapter 38 - Lucius

**Lucius**

Harper was quite surprised to find Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis waiting for her and Theo after their morning workout. Daphne had avoided her completely since the occulumency lesson. Yet there they were huddled in their cloaks waiting. Without saying a word Daphne walked off toward the lake.

Tracey eyed Harper suspiciously. "She won't say what happened between the two of you, but she wants to talk to you. Her father is coming today. Don't make this any harder than on her than it has to be."

While Harper didn't particularly like Tracey's attitude, she recognized that Tracey was looking out for her best friend. In a strange way Tracey's anger was a relief, because it meant that Daphne hadn't said a word about Harper Potts even to her best friend. "It is between us. I told her the truth, Tracey. That's all..." She was tempted to add more either to explain or to tell Tracey to butt out, but none of that would work. "...I'll try not to make it harder on her.

"You had better not." Tracey flounced off to stand by Theo.

Harper studied Daphne. Just by the way she stood it was obvious that she was still as hostile as before. At a guess this was about the promised meeting with Lucius Malfoy. Harper hadn't heard anything about it. She had considered sending an owl directly to Lord Greengrass, but hadn't wanted to advertise the rift between herself and Daphne. She took a breath, centered herself and approached Daphne. "Good 'morn, Daphne." She did her little bow.

Daphne did not curtsey in return. "Miss Potts, my father will be here for the Quidditch match today. I'm to guide you to him after the match where you will meet Lord Malfoy. My father expects to see us sitting together during the game. You owe me for keeping your secrets. I need you to sit beside me during the game and pretend that we are on speaking terms in front of my father."

"Alright. I can do that. I never stopped being on speaking terms with you. Judging by your behavior, you are the one who won't be able to keep up appearances."

"I'll manage, Harper Potts."

"Should I bring Madame Pomfrey?"

Daphne shrugged. "It is of no concern to me if you bring the poor deluded woman. If you want to be seen as a simpering child who needs protection, by all means, bring her."

Harper wasn't sure this was good advice. Did she really want to be alone with Lucius Malfoy and Lord Greengrass even if it was at Hogwarts? However, Madame Pomfrey hadn't liked it much when Harper had complained about inadequate teachers to Lord Greengrass. Somehow Harper didn't think she would be happier with Lord Malfoy there as well. "I leave her out of it. Shall I walk you to the game?"

"No. Sitting beside me is enough. Just pretend in front of my father. You're good at that." Daphne turned to leave.

Harper stepped closer. "Daphne, wait, I'm not an evil creature. I didn't kill him. All I did was hide my secrets."

Daphne paused and gazed coldly at Harper. "I don't know if you killed the real Harry Potter or not. You wouldn't show me the truth, but you did far worse than hide _your_ secrets. You stole _his_ life. Stay away from me — Harper Potts." She walked away without a backward glance.

Harper wrestled with Daphne's parting words for the rest of the day. Part of it was simply that she liked Daphne and wished they could be friends again, but there seemed to be no way to mend that bridge. A larger part of it was that Daphne was right. She had stolen Harry's life. She had stepped into Harry Potter's shoes and planned to use his fame for her agenda. She wasn't Harry Potter. She wasn't the son of James and Lily Potter. She didn't deserve their forture. She wasn't the boy-who-lived. She wasn't even a boy. In her mind defeating Voldemort and curing cancer was worth it, but her life was a house of lies built on a foundation of lies.

She sat next to Daphne at the Quidditch game, but Daphne flinched away from any contact. Cold disapproval rolled off her like the foggy chill off a winter lake. Harper tried to cheer Slytherin to victory, but it didn't happen. Ravenclaw slowly pulled into a lead until they were up sixty points. At that point even catching the snitch wouldn't win for Slytherin and the game turned into a rout. Eventually Ravenclaw caught the snitch and it was a subdued Slytherin that left the field. With the game over, she followed Daphne toward the visitor seats. Most of the visitors were from Hogsmead, come to watch the game. Two blond gentlemen dressed in rich dress robes were easy to make out. As they drew closer Harper noticed a certain similarity in their features. She had to wonder how tightly intermarried were Greengrass and Malfoy families. That was something she should have looked up before this meeting.

While Lord Greengrass did the introductions, Harper focused on her occulumency. She expected Lord Malfoy to sneer more. He was always portrayed as smug and superior in the books. However, the man she saw looked more aristocratic: aloof and indifferent. He didn't have the same bitterness to him that Snape did. Harper had to remind herself that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater and had probably killed many people while wearing that aloof smile he had on now.

Lord Malfoy inclined his head slightly, like a puzzled bird wondering if it had just found a tasty worm. "A pleasure to finally meet the-boy-who-lived. Draco has told me a great deal about you."

"All of it good, I trust." Harper couldn't avoid the eye contract. That would be suspicious. So she tried to concentrate on the vault around her thoughs as she spoke to him.

"His tales were very entertaining. Perhaps we can talk about them, but not here. I think we should take this conversation to the board room. That will be more private."

Lord Greengrass nodded his agreement. "Excellent suggestion." His gaze turned to Daphne. "Daughter, your presence will not be required. I will speak with you later."

"Very well, good day, good sirs." She dropped a deep curtsey. "And good day to you as well, Mr. Potter." She dropped another curtsey and left.

"This way," announced Malfoy and let the way into the Castle.

Lord Greengrass looked over to Harper as they walked. "I do believe my daughter is upset with you, Mr. Potter. Do you know why?"

Harper kept walking as she searched for a believable lie. "I don't know. Something about the party at New Year's. I wasn't that enthusiastic about dancing and she got upset about it. She apologized and I tried to apologize as well, but something about my apology didn't sit well." She tried for a nonchalant shrug. "I don't think I understand girls, sir."

Lord Greengrass and Lord Malfoy both seemed to find that hysterical. They both laughed. Lord Greengrass had a deep chuckle while Lucius Malfoy's had a sardonic tone to it.

"No wizard has ever truly does, Mr. Potter," said Lord Greengrass.

"True," agreed Lucius Malfoy, "but you don't have to understand them. You just have to… marry them." His tone made it clear that he didn't really mean 'marry'. "Maybe I should thank you, Mr. Potter. I think Lord Greengrass's daughter is a little highstrung for my Draco."

Harper had been congratulating herself for slipping past Lord Greengrass' question unscathed, but Lord Malfoy's comment about Daphne being highstrung felt like a hand grenade with the pin pulled. Was that an open insult to Daphne or Draco? "I'm grateful to know that you feel endebtted to me, sir?" She knew as she said it that she'd gotten it wrong. Not that the wording was so bad, but she had made it into a question.

"I never said that I was _endebtted_, Mr. Potter." His tone was cold as a knife now.

Crap, point Malfoy and this was just the warmup. Backpedal. "Of course not, sir. I wasn't trying to imply that you were."

"Lucius," scolded Lord Greengrass with a trace of amusement in his tone. "Go easy on him. He's still a boy and while you might not be in his debt, I am. I've got a live daughter instead of a dead one. Besides, I think you'll like what he has to say."

"So you've said. We'll see." With that remark the polite conversation fell quiet. Malfoy led them through the castle to a door near the Headmaster's office. Malfoy tapped the door with his cane. "Lord Malfoy, Governor and Chair."

The door swung open to reveal a room that reminded Harper of the tales of King Arthur, a large round table dominated a circular room. At the cardinal points the chairs were thrones and bore the arms and names of the Hogwarts Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw. There were three lesser chairs between each of the thrones and they were carved with names and coats of arms as well: Black, Bones, Dorcas, Gamp, Longbottom, MacDougal, Malfoy, Moels, Oakby, LeFey, Peverell, Ridgway.

Malfoy tapped his cane three times and there was a pulse of magic. "Now we can talk. Deliberations in this room are sealed even from the headmaster. Malfoy sat down in the chair with his family name and crest upon it. "So Mr. Potter, I understand you have some observations about the quality of professors and Hogwarts."

Harper still wasn't really sure that telling Lucius Malfoy was the right move to make, but she went ahead and repeated the same things she'd discussed with Lord Greengrass. She talked about how Binns focused far too much on the Goblin Wars and ignored other important topics, his lectures were the same from year to year and students had copies of his tests in advance. With Snape she tried to walk more carefully, calling him overzealous and that his partisanship was obvious to everyone. His withholding of instructions from three of the houses made it difficult for any non-Slytherin to master Potions.

Lucius Malfoy seemed politely interested about Binns, but bored about Snape. "Mr. Potter, that's all very interesting, but not at all useful. Let's say that you're right about everything you say. It still remains that Severus is the only one on staff with the right attitudes. The rest of the faculty think Dumbledore can do no wrong. I don't want him removed. Dumbledore would replace Severus with someone he could control, Slughorn most likely."

Lord Greengrass cleared his throat. "I understand what you are saying Lucius, but in the grand scheme of things Severus Snape is a pawn in this game or at best a bishop. If our Mr. Potter could provide proof against Snape, then the presence of two bad apples on the staff would build a case that the Headmaster himself needed to be taken to task. If you make an issue about Binns, Dumbledore will no doubt sack him and write it off as a misunderstanding with a twinkle in his eye."

Lucius snorted in derision. "That sounds just like him. However, the evidence against Severus is weak. Dumbledore could still dance around this. I might sacrifice Severus if it would outst Dumbledore, but there is insufficient evidence. What real proof do you have Mr. Potter?"

Haper had her word and that of a lot of kids, but Snape could dismiss so much of it as complaining. Although she did have one idea. "Have you considered statistics? I'm confident that if you examine O.W.L and N.E.W.T scores in Potions over the past several years that you'll notice a drop in graduates since Snape took over Potions."

Lucius Mafoy shook his head. "The Board of Governors won't look at pages of numbers. That's for muggles and goblins. I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

"What about the troll?" asked Lord Greengrass. "There is no way a troll could have entered the castle without inside help. Do you know anything about that Mr. Potter?"

Harper thought it spoke volumes about the wizarding world that statistics simply didn't matter to them. However, she let it go. "I don't know about the troll. I suspect it was guarding whatever the headmaster is hiding on the third floor corridor, the one that we've been told to avoid or face a gruesome death. However, I don't know for certain."

"Perhaps that is something you could look into, Mr. Potter. We should talk about that later." Lord Greengrass turned to Malfoy. "I'm sorry that this wasn't more here. I thought you would find Mr. Potter's insights useful."

"It was useful. Mr. Potter, I'd appreciate copies of the notes for Binns classes. It might not be useful by itself, but if I find other reasons to act, then it will be good to have multiple lines of inquiry."

Harper nodded. "I'll put them together and send them to you."

"Don't. Send them to Lord Greengrass by way of his daughter. It is probably better that we're not seen to communicate. Now, while I'm here, I'd like to ask you what happened between you and my son, Draco. I understand that you two fought a duel. I've heard his side of things, I'd like to hear yours."

Harper took a breath and did her occulumency to hide her surprise. She hadn' t thought Draco would have admitted to his father that she kicked his arse. Or that Lucius Malfoy would make an issue of it. "Oh, there isn't much to tell about that. Draco and I usually get along, but we had a disagreement over the Longbottom heir of all things. Draco was teasing him. Nothing too serious, the usual Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry stuff, but the Longbottoms and the Potters are traditionally friends, so I asked Draco to back off. We exchanged some words and things got a little out of hand and we ended up dueling." Harper tried to make it all sound like silly boy stuff. "At least we thought we were dueling. After just one lesson at the Dueling Club, I learned that standing still and trading spells without dodging or blocking isn't much of a duel. I 'won' and Draco was a gracious loser and we haven't had any trouble since. We don't always see eye to eye, but we're both Slytherins." And that was about the biggest pile of dragon dung she'd shoveled yet.

Lucius Malfoy looked amused. "An interesting story, I'm glad to hear that my son was honorable in defeat. Losing gracefully is a difficult lesson to learn. However, that wasn't the story I'd wanted to hear. I meant the duel where Draco used _Serpensortia_."

Harper mentally kicked herself. She'd just volunteered all that for nothing. "Oh, at the Dueling Club. That was interrupted. Draco used _Serpensortia_. I don't think he, or anyone else knew that I was a parselmouth then." Should she have kept that secret? Too late now. That snake was let out of the bag very publicly. "I called off the snake and then took it to Professor Kettleburn."

"So it is true that you are a parselmouth then?" Lucius looked at her intently.

Harper felt a flick of pressure on her mind and she did her visualization, a vault around her memories, vault door slamming closed. "Yes, I am." She kept the vault locked. Had he seen anything? He hadn't used the spell. Focus on the vault. Solid walls. Solid floor and ceiling. Thick steel door.

"He's a true Slytherin, isn't he Lucius?" said Lord Greengrass. "Perhaps even the heir of Salazar? They say parseltongue only runs in his bloodline."

Lucius glanced away. "So say some…"

Harper felt the pressure vanish, but she didn't stop her occulumency. She just tried to remain calm and see if either of them had anything else to say.

"… what interests me more," continued Lucius Malfoy. "Is that the snake was a cobra, isn't that so?"

Harper nodded. "Yes, it was sir." Obviously Draco had told him that already.

"Most peculiar. Serpensortia usually summons a snake common to the area. Scottland isn't known for its cobras. I also find it interesting that my son was coached in this spell by Professor Quirrell, who abruptly vanished right after that little incident at the Dueling Club. You wouldn't know anything about that would you, Mr. Potter."

Vault! Strong walls. Thick walls about her memories. "No, sir. I wish that I did." She again felt the probing as Lucius stared at her.

Lord Greengrass cleared his throat loudly. "I'm sure if he did, he would tell you, Lucius."

Lucius Malfoy looked away. "Of course. It is a matter of concern to me. If I was a suspicious man, I would think that Professor Quirrell tried to frame my son."

Lord Greengrass chuckled. "Perhaps that's why he ran. I'd be tempted to do so if you were suspicious of me, Lucius."

"Indeed." Lord Malfoy turned to Harper. "As for you, young Mr. Potter, I hope you and my son get along better in the future. As you say, you are both Slytherins."

Was that a threat? It was Lucius Malfoy. It was probably a threat. "I think we've made great strides in that direction already, sir."

"Good, good," said Lord Greengrass. "I think you can go now, Mr. Potter. I still have a few things to discuss with Lucius."

Alrighty then. Harper stood. "Thank you for this opportunity." And she still had no idea if she'd done any good or not. It seemed like all she'd done was give Lucius Malfoy ammunition, so that was probably bad, but Lord Greengrass had been surprisingly good about backing her up. He'd interrupted every time Lucius had stared to hard. So apparently Daphne's father now supported her more than Daphne did.


	39. Chapter 39 - Midnight Warning

**Midnight Warning**

"Harry Potter," whispered a voice. "Wake up, Harry Potter."

Harper didn't want to wake up but then her brain registered that the voice whispering at her to wake up was not Poppy or Steven Pomfrey. She reached for her wand on the bedside stand. "_Lumos_!" The tip of her wand blazed and lit up the small bedroom that the Pomfreys had given her to sleep in. Standing in her bedroom was a house elf. The only house elf she'd ever met before was Trelly, but this wasn't Trelly. It had the same, the bat ears, long skinny nose and bulging eyes. However, it's eyes were green and Trelly had brown eyes. However, the more obvious difference was that it was dressed in a dirty pillowcase that had neck and armholes cut into it. While she would clean, fetch or do whatever Madame Pomfrey asked, Trelly was proud of the fact that she was an infirmary elf. She copied Poppy's dress as much as a house elf could: her 'dress' was a bit of black curtain, she wore an 'apron' made from a white towel over it, and wore a white 'cap' that was woven out of discarded bandages.

"Harry Potter!" said the creature. Its voice wasn't quite as high pitched as Trelly's, but it was still squeaky. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir… Such an honor it is…"

"Dobby?! You're Dobby?" Oh, no, no, no. Dobby shouldn't be arriving until summer.

"Yes, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf."

"Um, Dobby, not to be rude but what are you doing in my bedroom?" Not exactly what she wanted to ask. The correct question was, 'why was Dobby here now?' What had she done wrong? Was this because of her meeting with Lucius Malfoy earlier?

"Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is difficult, sir… Dobby wonders where to begin…"

Harper felt the urge to shake the bloody elf and demand answers. However, she knew calm and consideration would get better results. "Why don't you sit down and we'll talk." She patted the foot of her bed.

Dobby burst into noisy tears. "S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never… never ever…"

"You might want to keep it down, Dobby. You're not a Hogwarts elf are you? If Poppy's elf Trelly finds you here, will you be in trouble?"

"Harry Potter knows another house elf and calls her by name! And he bids me to sit! Dobby has _never_ been asked to sit down by a wizard — like an _equal_. I knew of your greatness, but never your kindness."

She spent the next bit comforting the elf, getting him to sit and watching him hiccough. Eventurally he managed to get himself under control, but she was still disturbed by his wide-eyed gaze of utter devotion. "Alright, feeling better now, Dobby? Now why are you here?"

"Harry Potter is both good and great! He has braved many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he has to shut his ears in the oven door later… _Harry Potter must flee Hogwarts!_"

This was the speech. Was it the diary already? "Can you tell me why?"

"There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this spring," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known of it for months, sir, but plans has changed. The danger has come sooner! The danger is now. Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts. He is in mortal danger."

"I am usually in mortal danger." She needed to finesse this. Dobby would punish himself before revealing the plot, but he just might confirm it if she guessed right. "This is about the cursed diary that Lucius Malfoy brought to Hogwarts today isn't it?"

"Harry Potter knows all! Harry Potter is great and good and wise. If Harry Potter knows of the diary, then he should know that he must flee."

Harper smiled. "No, there is no need to flee, Dobby. No reason at all. I already killed the basilisk."

Dobby gasped out loud. "B-b-but the plot! Oh truly Harry Potter is the greatest and wisest wizard of all time! Harry Potter sees through the darkest of plots."

Harper felt like laughing. Nobody paid any attention to house elves. She had just defused Dobby trying to force her to leave and confirmed the diary was at Hogwarts. The only problem was who had it and why. The why was two-fold in the books: discredit Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection Act and to get Dumbledore kicked out as Headmaster. Something she'd done had advanced the agenda, but the more important question was who had the book. Ginny wasn't at Hogwarts left. If Lucius Malfoy stayed true to form and gave it to a Weasley there were four possible choices: Percy, Fred, George and Ron. One stood out as most likely. "The person that I'm most worried about is Ron Weasley. Even with the basilisk dead, the diary could still hurt him."

The bulging of Dobby's eyes told Harper that she had once again guessed right. "Harry Potter is Harry Potter, the greatest of the great. Never would Dobby have guessed."

Harper wanted to laugh. She was the one who was guessing and on a roll. "If you want to help me, Dobby, could you bring me that diary."

Dobby frowned. "House elves cannot be taking things that don't belongs to them. That's in the rules."

Then how did Dobby take gillyweed for Harry Potter in Goblet of Fire? Of course, Dobby had been a free elf in book four. Although Dobby seemed to be constrained to obey the letter of his rules and not the spirit. Maybe she could finesse this. "Dobby, it isn't really Ron Weasley's property. It was Lucius Malfoy's property, but he gave it away. That means it isn't his property either. So that means it doesn't belong to anyone."

Dobby nodded his head eagerly looking like one of those bobblehead dolls that people used to put on the dashboards of their car. "Yes, it's not really… Oh, no!" He leapt off the bed and ran to the wooden footboard of the bed where he started smashing his head into it. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby. Mustn't touch books! Books is not for house elves! Only for dusting and puttings away. Bad Dobby!"

"Dobby, stop!" This had been a bit funny in the books, but there was nothing humorous about it at all. Dobby winced in pain, but seemed unable to stop himself. "Stop it! Stop it, Dobby!"

Harper's door was suddenly flung open and Poppy stood there wrapped in a robe with light from the hallway streaming in around her. "What's going on here?"

Dobby turned around and stared at Poppy. "Dobby must go." With a crack of apparaition he vanished.

Poppy stared at Harper open-mouthed. "What was that about?"

"That was Dobby. He was certainly a strange little elf. Although I only have Trelly to compare him against."

Poppy walked in and sat down on Harper's bed where Dobby had been. Her robe gaped open a bit revealing a flower-print flannel nightgown beneath her robe. "So what was Dobby doing here at this time of night?"

Harper hated lying to Poppy. She had to sometimes to pretend to be Harry, but they'd gotten past the initial questions so she didn't do it much any longer. So she tried to avoid it with half-truths. "He couldn't quite say. He said that he was here to warn me and that great danger was coming to Hogwarts. I don't think he was a Hogwarts elf. He started punishing himself when I asked him a question. Is that normal for house elves?"

Poppy shook her head. "Not at Hogwarts, it's not. Some families bind their house elves with all sorts of rules, which is an abomination. House elves are creatures born out of love. It is easy to take house elves for granted, but it takes a cold heart to bind them to hurt themselves. Did he say what kind of danger?"

Harper shook her head. "No, he couldn't say, but it was so bad that he wanted me to flee Hogwarts."

"Rubbish," scoffed Poppy. "Although there may be a plot of some sort against you. His family must treat him horribly that he would act against them. That would be almost insane for most elves…" She sighed. "Trelly, I need you."

Trelly the house elf appeared with a crack. Harper half-expected to see her in a self-made robe and nightgown as well, but she was wearing her usual outfit. "Trelly is here, Mistress Pomfrey. How may Trelly help?"

"A house elf named Dobby was just here and woke up Harry. Do you know if he works at Hogwarts?"

"There be no elf by that name here, Mistress Pomfrey. Trelly does not know a Dobby, but it is a bad elf that brings attention to itself. Even worse to wake a young one while they be sleeping. Trelly can ask the kitchen elves, the garden elves and all the others if they know a Dobby."

"Please do, Trelly. You can ask them tomorrow and tell me then. We'll be going back to sleep so don't go waking all the other house elves at this hour, and Trelly… You are a good elf."

Trelly smiled broadly. "Thank you, Mistress Pomfrey." She walked out the door and was gone.

Harper watched all this with interest. She really needed to read up about house elves before Hermione discovered them and came up with S.P.E.W., but that was just one more item on her to-do list. She was a lot more concerned about what to do about Tom Riddle's diary being in Ron Weasley's hands. She offered Poppy a smile. "I guess, I should go back to sleep now."

"If you can, dear. We can tell the headmaster in the morning."

Harper rolled her eyes. "Right, like that will do anything."

"What is your problem with Albus Dumbledore? The headmaster is a great wizard."

Harper sighed. "Poppy, I know he is a great wizard. He defeated Gindelwald. He might be a good Chief Warlock and a good Supreme Mugwump for all I know. However, by his actions he is not a good headmaster. Professor Binns doesn't teach. He's a ghost stuck in a pattern. He simply repeats his old lectures in monotone. Professor Snape is malicious, blantanly prejudiced toward Slytherin to the point that he withholds important instructions from students from other houses. Nobody is does anything to reign in the pranks and bullying. You should know that better than anyone. You treat the worst victims." Plus Dumbledore left Harry Potter with the Dursley's, but that wasn't in the papers that Shacklebolt had provided, so there was no way to accuse him of it. "Maybe he isn't a bad man. Maybe he just takes on too much responsibility, but he is failing badly at being a headmaster and that is all I can judge him on."

"So… that's why you met with Lucius Malfoy today?"

Harper looked up. "You knew about that? Yes, that's why."

"Very well, I don't agree with your actions, but it is hard to fault your conviction. Perhaps all things considered, it would be best if I spoke with the headmaster alone tomorrow. If he wants to see you, then he can ask. Get some sleep now, dear." Poppy leaned forward and planted a kiss on Harper's forehead.

Harper smiled. "Goodnight, Poppy."

Harper snuggled back down in her blankets but didn't go to sleep when Poppy left. She needed to get Tom Riddle's diary back from Ron Weasley and fast. That would mean breaking into Gryffindor tower. Maybe she could take care of Peter Pettigrew while she was at it. The problem was that she didn't know the password, nor did she have an invisibility cloak. She should have received the cloak at Christmas, but apparently Dumbledore didn't trust her with like he did the Gryffindor Harry Potter. So how was she going to get away with breaking into Gryffindor tower? She laughed out loud when the answer struck her — Polyjuice Potion. Fate had a habit of making things repeat. Gryffindor Harry Potter had used polyjuice to break into the Slytherin rooms. It seemed only right that Slytherin Harper Potts should use polyjuice to break into Gryffindor tower. She would even get Hermione involved in brewing it. That would be in keeping with the first time. Maybe the key to beating fate at this game was to let some of the smaller things repeat and only change the important ones. Yes, even to using Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. This could work. The would take time to brew Polyjuice Potion, but it had also taken time for the diary to gain enough control to possess Ginny Weasley. Hopefully Harper could get the potion brewed and head things off before Tom Riddle found a dead snake in the Chamber of Secrets.


	40. Chapter 40 - The Polyjuice Plot

**The Polyjuice Plot**

Myrtle had become something of a friend to her, a girl her own age that she could talk to. Myrtle almost knew the whole truth and even better was an eager ally. If anything Myrtle kept pushing her to take action, so she expected it would be easy to get her help.

"It's here!" Myrtle's form grew more solid and brighter while her smile grew broarder and darker. Not that was a surprise to Harper any longer. Any time Voldemort or his horcruxes were mentioned Myrtle went from moaning to murderous. "You told me Tommy Boy's diary wouldn't arrive until next school year. Have you seen it? What's our plan?"

Harper grinned at it being called 'our' plan. While Myrtle was more than a little frightening when she had her vengeance on, Voldemort's first victim was certainly on Harper's team. "No, I haven't seen it, but it's here and it is in Ron Weasley's possession. I'm going to need your help. Weasley is in Gryffindor. I have a plan to get inside, but I won't have much time. I need you to scout Gryffindor tower and find out where the diary is kept so I can go right to it, grab the diary and get out."

"So my part is find the diary and scout Gryffindor tower out so you can go right there and not take a wrong turn into the girl's quarters. That part is pretty easy. If the murdering bastard used my death to make the diary, I'm pretty sure that I'll recognize it immediately. If my murder was used on the ring, it might take longer. I'm not a poltergeist. I can't move things. What does the diary look like?"

Good question. If Tom Riddle's diary had been described in the books, she couldn't remember it. "It looks like a blank book. When Weasley writes in it the ink will suck into the page and rearrange. That's how the diary writes back to its victim."

Myrtle 'paced' by floating back and forth a bit. "That will be harder. I'll have to follow him around and wait for him to write in it. It is pretty easy to be sneaky when you can walk through walls, but I have to avoid his notice and the Pettigrew rat. Are you sure that Ron Weasley is just a stooge? It seems too much of a coincidence that he feeds and hides Pettigrew and now has this diary."

Harper frowned. "I think he's just a patsy, but you're right. It's a huge coincidence. Maybe it's karma, or fate." How bad had she screwed things up by not getting into Gryffindor?

Myrtle sighed. "I miss reading so much. I loved reading from the _Book of the Dead_ with you. I bet there are tons of books on karma and fate in the library. If I could turn pages, I could research stuff for you. I've got plenty of free time. Even this scouting thing won't take that long."

Harper was surprised at seeing this side of Myrtle, but she had been in Ravenclaw, so it actually fit that she was a bookworm. "Hmm, I'm surprised that I don't see more ghosts reading over students shoulders."

"A lot of ghosts are like Professor Binns. They're caught in a pattern and slowly fading. Even if they read something it doesn't stick in their memories. I'm not that way, but I never knew why until you told me how I was murdered."

"I'd let you study with me in the library, but I think it would draw too much attention." It felt unfair to neglect Myrtle. She was a friend, but Myrtle's protection was that no one knew. There were spells to torture ghosts, and Harper didn't want people guessing that Myrtle knew her secrets. "This summer when the students are gone, we can read some books together."

"I'd like that… So this scouting thing, do I need to get you the password, too?"

Doh, she should have thought of that. "If you can manage it."

"The password will be easy-peasy. No one notices a ghost hanging around the ceiling, not even the paintings. You'll let me be there when you destroy it, won't you?"

"Of course, Myrtle." Harper grinned as inspiration struck her. "If you want I'll even let you briefly possess me and drive the basilisk fang through the diary yourself."

"Oh yessss!" Myrtle's body did a little shiver in midair as if she just had a vengencegasm. "I'd better get started scouting then. The sooner I get the scouting done, the sooner we can put another nail in the murdering bastard's coffin."

"Slow down a bit Myrtle. I plan to use Polyjuice Potion to get into Gryffindor tower. Which means I'll need fluxweed gathered under a full moon and I'll need to stew lacewing flies for twenty-one days. So it will be almost a month before I can sneak into Gryffindor tower. I'll also need a safe place to stew the lacewing flies. Would you mind if I used your bathroom?"

Myrtle snickered. "Well it is girl's bathroom, but I guess you can use it so long as you don't leave the toilet seat up."

"Myrtle! I meant could I stew the lacewing flies and brew the potion in your bathroom. Would you keep everyone out?"

"Yoooouuuu mean haaaaunt, them?" she moaned before reverting to her normal voice. "Of course, I do that anyway. Playing Moaning Myrtle helps keep the boredom away."

"I'll have one exception. Polyjuice is a complicated potion. I want to bring in someone to help me brew it. Do you know Hermione Granger?"

"The buck-tooth, curly headed witch that you're always studying with? Know her? I used to be her: muggle-born, top witch in my class, and picked on by all the others. Except that I didn't have a friend like you that got her away from the bullies. And the Ravenclaws in my day still had a lot of that pureblood bullshite going on. So… you going to be telling her all your secrets?"

Harper shook her head. "Not all of them, not yet. She doesn't know occulumency yet, so we have to work out our story…"

While Myrtle was eager and easy to convince, Harper expected Hermione to be more difficult to convince. Involving her was a bit of a risk, but she hated all the lying she was doing to her friends. Having Hermione help brew Polyjuice felt right. She wasn't involving Theo, but Myrtle would be an active participant, so there would be three people in the polyjuice plot — just like in _Chamber of Secrets_.

"You want to brew what?!"

"Polyjuice Potion. It allows the drinker to —"

"I know what polyjuice does." Hermione's hands went to her hips, classic annoyed girl pose, one that Harper knew all too well. "What are you going to do with it? And how are you going to get _Moste Potente Potions_ out of the restricted section?"

"I don't have to get it out of the restricted section. I bought my own copy of _Moste Potente Potions_ when we were shopping at Obscurus Books. Poppy was on an errand and your mother was distracted. I picked up a few good books, including _Meditations for the Mind_… which brings me to why. How is your meditation coming along?"

Hermione frowned and her hands left her hips. "I'm trying but it's not easy to think of nothing. I keep having thoughts pop up… It's not me you don't trust. It's someone reading my mind. I know you have secrets Harry, more than most Slytherins. Sometimes we're talking and you just close up. It's like you're a different person. So I'm just supposed to help you brew this potion, break dozens of school rules and not pry too much into why." She sighed. "I need promises. Tell me that this is important. That it isn't some stupid prank and no one is going to get hurt."

"It is important and it isn't some stupid prank. If I don't do this lots of people could get hurt. With the polyjuice, the one most at risk is me."

Hermione nodded. "If people could get hurt, can't you tell a teacher?"

A part of Harper wanted to cheer. This Hermione didn't have the inherent trust in authority that Hermione in the books did. She merely asked instead of insisting. "I don't have proof. If this works, I will have proof and I intend to tell the headmaster afterwards. Does that make you feel better?"

"Yes, it does. You will tell me, when my occulumency is good enough, won't you? That's why you gave me the book."

"Of course, I will, Hermione. I've been wanting to tell you for a long time."

"Alright then… So, where is this copy of _Moste Potente Potions_?"

Introducing Myrtle to Hermione was interesting. Hermione knew about Moaning Myrtle, but she'd never met the real Myrtle. Harper was pleased that the two of them got along fairly well. The biggest problem was that Hermione wanted to ask questions that Myrtle couldn't answer due to her promises. Aside from that little hiccough thing the two seemed to get along. Hermione set up a conjured flame and they set the lacefly wings to stewing for the required three weeks. Most of the ingredients could be found in the student cupboards or harvested, but with two exceptions.

Finding Octavia wasn't a problem. The seventh year Ravenclaw was usually in the library studying for her NEWTs. Harper sat down next to her and waited.

After a bit Octavia looked up. "Hello Harry, I don't have much time to socialize if that's what you want."

Harper shook her head. "It is more of a favor."

Octavia nodded. "Very well. Give me a few minutes to get to a stopping place."

"Alright." Harper waited and waited.

Eventually Octavia put a bookmark in her book and closed it. "What favor do you need? You still haven't returned the last two books that I borrowed for you."

"It's nothing from the restricted section. I just wanted you to do some shopping for me on the next Hogsmeade weekend. Could you pick up some potion ingredients for me from the apothecary shop? I'll pay you for them."

Octavia nodded. "Yes, that won't be difficult or take too long. I'm of age. I won't even have to wait until a Hogsmeade weekend. What do you need me to buy?"

Now here came the potential sticky part. Octavia was in NEWT level potions. "Powdered bicorn horn and boomslang skin."

"Polyjuice Potion." Octavia paused. "That is a very difficult potion for a first year student, Harry. Are you sure that you are up to it?"

That was it? She didn't want to know why? "I've got help. I just need the ingredients."

"Very well, I'll get them for you. I'm your friend. Friends do things for each other, don't they?" If Octavia had been a Slythern this comment would have been a reminder of an owed debt. However, Octavia sounded like she was really asking if that was how friendship worked.

"Yes, friends do things for each other. I'll be glad to socialize with you as well, whenever you have time."

"My studies are very important to me at this point in my life. Perhaps in summer, Harry."

Harper couldn't help but feel guilty at having once again taken advantage of Octavia. "Yes, I'll be glad to socialize with you in the summer." She really had to do something to help Octavia become more human, but other than being a friend, she didn't know what to do. She had other things that had to take higher priority. She had to get ready to enter Gryffindor tower.

She felt ready to steal the diary and even capture Pettigrew. Her stunner wasn't where she wanted it yet, but it was hitting pretty hard. She was more concerned about what to do after she caught Pettigrew. She would need help to get Sirius freed. She still didn't see a better choice than Dumbledore. With Daphne refusing to help all she could do was practice her visualization exercises on her own and hope that her occulumency would be good enough.


	41. Chapter 41 - Hagrid's Folly

**Hagrid's Folly**

Myrtle came through with everything Harper asked her to do and more. She easily located the diary. Ron kept it in the second drawer of his dresser hidden underneath his underwear. The angry ghost was certain the horcrux had been created out of her murder and she was looking forward to destroying it. She discovered the Gryffindor password was pig snout. She even went above and beyond spying on Ron at night. Apparently Ron was writing in the diary, but hadn't appeared to Myrtle to be possessed yet. Harper wished the lacefly wings would hurry up and be done, but it felt like they had some time.

When Harper spotted Hagrid in the library, she immediately started cursing fate. Hagrid was quite noticeable and he was in the dangerous creatures section. Despite Hagrid's monster obsession she still had a bad feeling about suddenly finding him in the library. She remembered all too well why Hagrid was in the library during the spring of Harry Potter's first year. So she made a detour to check out the large groundskeeper before joining Hermione and Theo to study.

"Hello, Hagrid. I don't see you in the library much, what are you reading?"

"Harry Potter? Er… just lookin' fer some readin'. Just to pass th' time, you know." Hagrid was an awful liar. The shifty tone in his voice gave him away.

"I see." She wasn't really friends with Hagrid. She'd spoken to him a couple of times over the summer, but she didn't have the relationship that Harry Potter did in the books. She glanced over to the pile of books on the table. She could read the title on one of them,_ Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland_. It was enough to confirm her fear. Hagrid had a dragon egg. "About dragons, I see. I can understand that. I've always wanted to see one myself. Even muggle-raised, I'd heard about dragons. Maybe someday I'll take a trip to one of the dragon reservations."

"So yeh, always wanted ta see dragons, Harry?" He looked left and right, his body language screaming that he was hiding something. He lowered his voice to a whisper that was louder than most people's normal volume. "I heard 'bout them muggles yeh were put with. I suppose… No, I reckon that... I mean… Maybe yeh could stop by me hut latter, Harry. Might be I have somethin' ter show yeh."

Harper felt like groaning inside. It was as bad as she thought. Baby Norbert would be hatching soon. She really didn't want to be involved in Hagrid's folly, but she needed to ask him where the egg came from. Quirrellmort was gone, so who the hell had given Hagrid a dragon egg. Was Voldemort already back at Hogwarts with another host? She hoped not, but she needed to ask questions and not here in the library. Sooner or later someone would notice. "Sure, Hagrid. I'm supposed to study with my friends, but I can come by right after dinner."

"Good. See yeh then, Harry." Hagrid ran off leaving a pile of books behind.

Harper tried to study with Theo and Hermione, but wasn't very successful. She couldn't keep her mind off Hagrid and the dragon egg. She was forewarned about some things having read the books, but fate seemed determined that some things would repeat anyway. Who had given Hagrid the dragon egg? Should she go after the stone? She had planned to go after the stone before, but there hadn't seemed to be a point after Quirrellmort died. Was Voldemort back for another try?

Another good question was should she even try to help Hagrid? Hagrid was a good person and probably a good groundskeeper, but in two years Albus Dumbledore would make him a teacher and that was a horrible mistake. Hippogriffs were not a good starting creature. The blast-ended skrewts were also a terrible choice to spend a year on. It wasn't that Hagrid was a bad person. It was simply that he didn't have any idea how to lay out lessons over five years so they got progressively harder. If she did nothing, then Norbert would rapidly get too big for Hagrid to hide. There would be an incident and it would come out and Hagrid would get the sack. Which might be the point. Maybe it wasn't a plot by Voldemort to get the stone. Maybe it was just Lucius Malfoy working harder to discredit Dumbledore. Did she want Dumbledore thrown out?

After dinner she went to Hagrid's hut and found herself replaying a scene straight out of book one minus Ron and Hermione. Hagrid welcomed her in, offered her some rock cakes and there in the fireplace underneath the kettle was a big black egg. "Hagrid, is that a dragon egg."

Hagrid nodded with pride. "Yeh, said yeah always wanted ter see a dragon. You'll get ter in just a few days. It's a secret, but… I owe you Harry. I never told yeh, but I'm the one who picked yeh up on the day it happened. It was on Dumbledore's orders. He's a great man, Dumbledore, I guess even great men make mistakes. I wanted ter make it up to yeh. I'll send an owl. If yer not in class, maybe yeh can see it hatch." It was obvious that Hagrid's speech came straight from the heart.

Harper hated to stomp on Hagrid's dreams, but someone needed to take a clue bat to his head. Apparently she'd been elected. "Hagrid, I'd like that a lot, but what are you going to do with a baby dragon? You live in a wooden house! Dragon breeding is illegal outside of a reservation. Do you want to end up in Azkaban?"

"Now, don't yeh be talkin' like that. I'm just goin' keep it here in me hut fer a few days after it hatches. Then I'll move it ter the Forbidden Forrest. Plenty o' room there fer a young dragon. Oh, let me show you somethin'." Hagrid pulled a large book out from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library—Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit—it's a bit outta date o' course, but its all in here. Keep the egg in fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' this is the best part, how ter recognize diff'rent eggs. What I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them." Hagrid started humming merrily and stroking the fire.

While it was played for laughs in the books, it was clear to Harper that Hagrid was simply not all there when it came to dangerous creatures. There was so many ways this could go wrong. Possibly even lethally wrong. What is some poor student wandered and got munched on by Norbert? She couldn't let that happen, but first there was an important question she needed to ask. "Where did you get the egg? They're illegal. It must have cost you a fortune."

"Won it," replied Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

Harper nodded. That sounded familiar. "What did this stranger look like?"

"Dunno." Hagrid shrugged. "He wouldn't take his cloak off. It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's head, that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer. I never saw his face."

"And he just gave you the egg? How did he know you could take care of it?"

"Oh, that. Well, he did ask if could handle it. He didn' want it ter go ter any old home, but after I told him about Fluffy and how I could handle him… Well a dragon would be easy afta a three-headed dog." Hagrid winced. "I shouldn'ta told you that! Forget I said it."

So it wasn't Lucius Malfoy trying to get Hagrid in trouble to help give Dumbledore the heave ho. It was someone after the stone, but it could be anyone. At least she knew to be on guard now, but that didn't help much. Also what was she going to do about Norbert? She wasn't friends with Charlie Weasley through Ron. "I look forward to your letter, Hagrid, but I better hurry so I'm not out after curfew. Thanks for showing me the dragon."

Hagrid looked a bit put out. "Alright then, Harry. Off yeh go."

Harper walked back into the castle. She needed to tell someone. She didn't like being a tattletale, and she felt like a hypocrite. After all, she was doing a lot of dangerous things and hiding them. If it was just Hagrid at risk, she'd let him take his chances. Maybe Hagrid did have things under control. He handled other dangerous creatures, but there were plenty of signs in the books that Hagrid's love of dangerous creatures outweighed common sense. The scenario of a fellow student maimed or killed by Norbert was just too likely. If she said nothing and that happened then it would be on her.

So that only left who to tell. As a Slytherin she should tell Snape. That was out. She'd seen Snape sneer at Hagrid before. He'd probably make sure Hagrid went to Azkaban. She might go to Professor Kettleburn. He taught Care of Magical Creatures, but would he be any better? She could try Professor McGonagall. She was Deputy Headmistress and tried to be fair. No way she wanted to go to Dumbledore… Duh, the answer was obvious. She was a still a child technically. Where should a child go for advice? She headed to the faculty wing.

Steven and Poppy were shocked at first, but very reassuring that she was doing the right thing. Poppy hugged her while Steven blew off steam. "Raising a dragon at Hogwarts. Dragon breeding was forbidden for many good reasons. Bloody fool. I should firecall the Ministry."

"Please don't. I would feel awful if he ended up in Azkaban because of me."

Poppy squeezed Harper. "Steven, he's right. Hagrid is misguided, but Azkaban is a bit harsh. Besides it would reflect badly on Hogwarts, especially after that troll incident on Halloween. I'm sure Albus would want to keep it hushed up."

Steven Pomfrey snorted. "I'm sure the old goat will bury it so that it never happened, and that's not right either. Still, I didn't say I was going to call the Ministry. I said that I should… Let's go talk to the headmaster."

"Dumbledore?" That wasn't what she wanted. She wasn't ready to see him. "Do I have to go to?"

Steven frowned. "Yes, you're the one who saw the egg. Why don't you want to see the headmaster?"

Oh bloody hell. What to say? She needed an excuse fast. "He scares me. They say he can look into your eyes and read your mind. I don't want him seeing… what happened with the Dursleys." She looked down feeling guilty. She was trading on Harry's suffering again. She had been only the smallest sample of Harry's life, but she played it like a get-out-of-jail-free card whenever she got into trouble.

Poppy hugged Harper again. "Albus Dumbledore is a good man, Harry. He doesn't terrorize his students. I think you have him confused with Professor Snape."

"And more importantly," said Steven. "mind reading as you call it doesn't work like that. It's properly called legilimency. Most people would have to use a wand, gestures and spells to use legilimency, but a master legilimens can do it with eye contact only. It wouldn't surprise me to find out Albus Dumbledore was a master legilimens, so there might just be a little truth to your rumor. However, even a master legilimens can't sort through your memories with just a glance. At most he could pick up a few surface thoughts. He's not going to see what happened to you the Dursleys. To probe your memories he would have to stop, make eye contact and stare at you for quite a while. Poppy and I will both be there. I think we'll notice if you two suddenly stop talking and start having a staring contest."

Harper felt gobsmacked by Steven's speech. Apparently her fears of legilimency were greatly exaggerated. That explained quite a bit. Like, how Lord Greengrass kept interrupting Lucius Malfoy's probes and why she hadn't been caught yet. It also explained why Snape wasn't more suspicious of her. He probably had probed her a little, but it wasn't like she was thinking about secret stuff all the time. When she was in potions class, she was mostly thinking about brewing potions. On the other hand, legilimency wasn't totally useless. It was hard not to think about something, like thoughts you wanted to hide. Which was why all the first lessons were on clearing the mind. Duh, suddenly a lot of pieces in her occulumency books made a lot more sense.

"Well, as long as you are with me, maybe." Her excuse wasn't holding up too well. Time for another reason. "He's the one that sent me to live with the Dursley's in the first place isn't he?"

Poppy frowned and sighed. "Yes, he did. However, they were your closest living relatives and it was your mother's will. I think he should have checked in on you, but once you were placed with the Dursley's he really had no legal grounds to bother them. He had no idea how they hurt you and he was very angry when he discovered it."

Harper nodded. "I see." The story painted Albus Dumbledore in a very good light, just carrying out Lily Potter's last wish. Harper wondered if it was true.

Steven grabbed his cane and pushed himself up. "Now that we've settled some of your fears, lets go see the old goat. This won't get easier by waiting."

Harper followed the Pomfreys to the stone gargoyle where Poppy gave the password Jelly Babies. They rode the escalating stairs up to the top and into Dumbledore's office. Harper wasn't surprised by the room. It was pretty much as described in the books: portraits of old headmasters, Fawkes the phoenix in his cage with an open door, a large cabinet that no doubt held a pensieve, lots of knickacks and doodads that were probably magical items, and Albus Dumbledore himself.

The headmaster sat at his desk reading a scroll. "Poppy, Steven, always a pleasure, and Mr. Potter. What is the occasion for this visit."

"Our Harry uncovered a dangerous situation, Albus." Poppy laid one hand on Harper's shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "I think he had best tell you himself."

"It's like this, sir. Hagrid invited me to his hut…" Harper focused on her the bank vault and keeping her mind clear as she told her story. She described the dragon's egg and Hagrid's plan to raise it first in his hut and then in the hidden forest. Once or twice she felt a pressure on her mind, rather like a head cold, but she did her best to keep going. "… and I want you to know that I don't think Hagrid is a bad person. Maybe it is because he is so big himself that he just doesn't realize how deadly even a small dragon could be to someone my size. When he was talking about the dragon, his eyes got all dreamy. I'm sure he does an excellent job as groundskeeper, but I think he would be happier working on a dragon reservation."

"Indeed," agreed Dumbledore. "Hagrid has often expressed to me that was his life's ambition. Sadly, he never completed his studies and doesn't have the qualifications."

Once again Harper felt the slight pressure on her mind. She closed her eyes and looked down focusing on her occulumency.

Steven Pomfrey cleared his throat. "Headmaster Dumbledore, if you have no further questions, we should be going. Harry has classes tomorrow. It's already past his curfew, so he'll be staying with us tonight."

"You're quite right, Steven, but I do have one more question before you go. Harry, could I ask why Lord Malfoy wanted to talk to you a couple of weeks ago."

Harper frowned and wondered what she should say. Lucius Malfoy wouldn't like it if she talked, but Lucius wasn't her friend. In the end the opportunity to speak her mind to Dumbledore with Poppy and Steven watching her back was too good to pass up. "He was interested in my opinion about some of the faculty at Hogwarts. I simply told him the truth as I see it that Professor Binns and Professor Snape shouldn't be teaching children."

"Professor Binns is a highly respected magical historian. He wrote several books on the Goblin Wars. As for Professor Snape, he is a Potions Master and as such is a recognized expert in his field. I understand their personalities may be difficult sometimes, but you should respect their knowledge and experience."

Harper shrugged. Dumbledore was blowing her off. "I'm just a child. I guess that I don't recognize that droning in a monotone is good teaching. Or that writing instructions on the blackboard then glowering at the class the rest of the time is good teaching. I do know something about being bullied. Professor Snape is a bully, and you as headmaster are responsible for his conduct. It is entirely obvious to me that you don't care to actually perform the duties of a headmaster!"

"Harry!" exclaimed Poppy. "That's quite enough. Albus, I'm sorry for my ward's behavior. You can be sure that I'll correct it shortly."

"Don't be too hard on him, Poppy. Lord Malfoy can be very persuasive. Even our esteemed Minister of Magic listens to him. Let me assure you, Harry, that I take my duties as Headmaster very seriously. It pains me to hear complaints from a student who is excelling at all his classes."

"Albus, I think it is now past time we see Harry to bed. You have Hagrid and a dragon egg to deal with. I'll have words with our ward. Good night, sir."

Harper found herself whisked away. She didn't really regret her words about Snape and Binns. They were obviously true and she thought they were just the ugly tip of the iceberg. She probably shouldn't have accused Dumbledore of being a bad headmaster, but she didn't really regret it. At least now she had proof about how closedminded he was. She'd been planning to take Pettigrew to him, but that was out of the question now. She'd have to look at one of her alternatives: Shacklebolt, Tonks or Lady Bones.

The Pomfreys said nothing until they were back inside their apartment with the door sealed. Then it was Steven who spoke first with a firm voice. "Poppy, I knew that you said that you would correct Harry's behavior, but he's a young wizard now. I think it best that he and I have a little chat."

Poppy frowned, but gave her husband a slight curtsey, something she had never done before. "As you wish, Steven. We can discuss this later."

Harper braced herself for a lecture and she got one, but not the one she expected. It was more about reputation and how important it was in the wizarding world. He talked about how she would be Lord Potter someday and needed to learn to think before she spoke. "I'm not saying that what you said was wrong, Harry, but the way you went about it guaranteed that Dumbledore would not listen. Plus you are still a child and he is the headmaster. It's rude for you to criticize him, your head of house, or your professors."

"So what you are saying is that position matters more than facts." The wizarding world was feeling more and more like Alice's Wonderland. If you don't like facts, just ignore them.

"Harry, you didn't have facts. You stated your opinion. You will be Lord Potter some day, but today you are just a first-year student at Hogwarts. You need to respect that." He sighed. "I need to set you a punishment. I want one-hundred lines, 'I will respect my elders.' No later than Thursday."

A hundred lines? Without a blood quill? That was a slap on the wrist. "Yes, sir. You'll have it." She'd have to think harder about what Steven Pomfrey had said. It felt so wrong to her, but he obviously hadn't been that angry. He'd been trying to help.


	42. Chapter 42 - Madam Bones' Niece

**Madam Bones' Niece**

Over the next several days Harper found herself once again questioning the reality of the world she inhabited. She'd given up and accepted it as real long ago, but maybe she had been too hasty in reaching that decision. It just felt fundamentally wrong to her that position and opinion mattered more than facts. Yet, that seemed to be the reality of the wizarding world. Maybe she was painting too rosy a picture of the muggle world. She hadn't been that political, but she'd heard of the 99% and Occupy Wallstreet. Yet, the wizarding world seemed worse. Appearance and perception seemed to matter more than reality. Dumbledore hadn't even listened to her. Maybe she had expressed opinion more than fact, but the facts were readily obtainable. Did Dumbledore not care or was he willfully supporting the status quo. If so, why?

More importantly what was she to do about Pettigrew? If she was successful, then she would obtain the diary and Peter Pettigrew. She could destroy the diary herself. She would need help to save Sirius Black. She had three possible people to approach: Shacklebolt, Tonks and Lady Bones. Shacklebolt had seemed friendly, but he was (or maybe would be) in the Order of the Phoenix. The same went for Tonks, but as a cousin to Sirius Black, she should be more personally invested. Regardless both of them were aurors so they both reported up to Lady Bones. So maybe it would make more sense to go straight to the top. However, she knew next to nothing about Lady Bones from the books. She was the head of Magical Law Enforcement and a strong enough witch that Voldemort killed her personally, but that didn't mean she was better then DumbOldDork or Voldemort. She might be just as bad. The one real scene with her in the books, she hadn't let Cornelius Fudge and Umbridge steamroll Harry in the Wizengamot. That spoke well, but she was still almost a complete unknown.

Regardless, Harper resolved to approach her niece, Susan Bones at the first opportunity and sound her out. She'd planned to do so after Charms class, but by chance they both matched up during the Bronze Rung practice at the Dueling Club. He knew even less about Susan Bones than he did about her aunt. She was trying to look serious, but not doing a very good job of it. Susan almost always seemed to be smiling, the poster witch for House Hufflepuff, friendly and good-natured. She was also one of the top three duelists in first year. Harper wasn't sure if it was natural talent, or if her aunt had trained her well, but as Harper traded a bow to her curtsey, she readied herself for a tough fight.

Harper led off with her _Stupefy_ and broke to her left. Her stunner was becoming her signature spell and was feared in her dueling bracket. She liked _Stupefy_. It was a fast spell with a simple gesture and even if it didn't yet knock her opponents unconscious, a good hit usually left them dazed long enough for her to get off an _Expelliarmus_ or a _Manipulus Wibbly _and that would end the fight. Susan led with her signature spell as well, _Mimble-Wimble_, the Tongue-Tying Curse and dodged as well. Their fight quickly turned into a dodger's duel with both of them relying on their reflexes to get out of the way rather than block while firing off a variety of hexes and jinxes at each other. Only rarely did either of them block with _Protego_. Harper thought her spells were stronger, but Susan had a natural athleticism and excelled at cast and dodge. As the duel wore on Harper found herself getting winded, but Susan's spells seemed to be fading. She thought she could win the endurance war, but she slipped in a puddle left by an _Augamenti _spell. She tried to roll, but it was no good. Susan hit her with a _Mimble-Wimble_ that left her tongue-tied and unable to cast. Harper bowed and conceded. Susan curtsied back. As Harper walked toward Susan to shake hands, Susan applied the countercharm.

Harper felt her tongue unstick from the roof of her mouth. "Thanks. Nice fight."

"Yeah, woo." Susan panted. "You, too. If you hadn't slipped in that puddle, you would have had me soon. I was just about tapped out."

Harper waved away the compliment. Susan had won fair and square. "Good strategy on your part with putting some puddles on my side. Next time, I'll be sure to return the favor." Or better yet, learn the spell for making patches of ice, but that was a tricky bit of transfiguration to pull off during a fight. "Hey, could we talk after Dueling Club?"

"Sure. I'll hang around."

They both had to leave the ring to allow others a turn. So Harper headed back to Theo and Hermione.

Theo gave her a fake scowl. "Were you just chatting up my girl?" He was no doubt referring to the fact that he had 'claimed' Susan Bones as a potential ally back at the first of the year.

"Hey now, I've never seen you say anything to her. I'm actually hoping for an introduction to her aunt."

"Lady Bones? Why do you need to talk to her?"

This was the problem with lying to her friends. "Remember me talking to Lord Malfoy about Binns and Snape? Susan's aunt is on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts, too."

Hermione had been listening quietly, but now she spoke up. "Harry, I'm not sure you should be going to the Governors. I know they're not good teachers, but I think this will get you into trouble."

"Listen to her, Harry. I know that you're the Boy-Who-Lived and all that, but you're wading into politics now and that's an adult's game."

Harper shrugged. "I don't have a choice. I'm already in the game. The only question is whether I'm a pawn or my own piece. Shh, match starting." They all hushed as the Patil sisters squared off against each other. Sister vs. twin sister promised to be interesting.

After Dueling Club, he said goodbye to his friends and tracked down Susan only to find her with Hannah Abbott. Not that it was surprising to see Susan and Hannah together. They were almost joined at the hip. Harper hadn't planned to have this conversation in front of Hannah Abbott, but it didn't really matter. Susan would no doubt tell Hannah everything anyway. He did the pureblood bowing thing. "Hello Susan. Hello Hannah."

"Hello Harry. You were awesome today! Is it true that you're going to try out for Silver Rung before the end of the year?" Hannah wasn't as bad in the fangirl department as Pansy, but there was certainly a bit of hero worship going on with her.

Harper shrugged. "I doubt it. My Shield Charm is good enough and my Flame Freeze, but I'm still working on my other elemental counters. I'm not ready yet. Susan put me through a good workout today."

"Ha, I got lucky. You slipped in a puddle."

"Maybe you had a bit of luck, but you shouldn't put yourself down. You're one of the top duelists in our year and I think you've got the best moves. Where did you learn to dodge like that? Is it all natural or did you practice?"

"Well…" Susan blushed. "Don't spread it around, but I did gymnastics for several years, right up until I came to Hogwarts."

"Really?" Harper tried to picture Susan in one of the leotards doing tumbling or the uneven bars. It really didn't match the image of her as a witch. Although it certainly explained how she could dodge so well. "Wow, that's different and I thought the Boneses were one of those old wizarding familes."

"We are, but we live in the muggle world. I went to a muggle schools and everything. So… was that what you wanted to ask me?"

"Actually, it is something of a favor. I was hoping that you could put in a good word for me with your aunt."

Susan's friendly smile faded. "So it isn't me that you want at all. You just want me to get you in touch with Madame Bones."

Hannah was standing a step behind Susan and wildly gesticulating behind her friends back. She shook her head so hard that her hair swished back and forth while trying to signaling with her hands that Harper should back off.

"Okay, I can get that is disappointing. There are lots of people who see me as the boy-who-lived and not for myself." Nobody saw the real Harper Potts. Well, nobody but Daphne who wanted nothing to do with Harper Potts. "However, I'm not pretend friending you to get to her. Not that I wouldn't mind being friends or anything, but that is the reason that I wanted to talk today."

"Alright you get points for honesty. Why do you need to talk to my auntie? I get the Slytherin ambition thing, but aren't you a little young for that?"

The truth, to turn Pettigrew over to Madam Bones would not work. However, she had another reason. "It's actually about her being on the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Lord Malfoy had a long talk with me about some comments I'd made about the faculty, particularly Binns and Snape. I might be young, but if I understand things right Lord Malfoy is taking aim at Dumbledore. I thought I should share what I said with another one of the Hogwarts Governors not aligned with the Malfoys."

"Interesting. I'm not sure what to do about it." She looked around and spotted Hannah behind her. "Hannah, what do you think?"

"Well, it wouldn't cost you anything to send your aunt an owl would it? It's not like you have people knocking down your door to speak with her."

"True enough." She turned back to Harper. "Right, I'll ask her, but if she says no, that's it. So there, you've got what you want. Anything else?"

"That's the favor, but you know I was muggle-raised and I've been trying to put together my own exercise program to stay healthy. Theo Nott and I go jogging every morning. We don't really know what we're doing, but if it was something you would be interested in, you are welcome to join."

"Why are you asking me? Are you trying to make friends because of my aunt."

"No, I'm not." Well, maybe a little, but there were other reasons. "It's just that I haven't met many witches or wizards that care about exercise. I know that gymnastics is entirely different from jogging, but you're still an athlete. You're the first student I've met that shows any concern about physical exercise. Most of them seem to think that Quidditch is a hard workout."

"You must not have talked to many people. I can think of at least one, Dean Thomas, off the top of my head. He's crazy into football."

"Dean Thomas is a Gryffindor. He's in Ron Weasley's clique and wouldn't give me the time of day."

"I'll think about it. Is it just you and Theo Nott?"

Harper nodded. "Yeah, we head to the Quidditch pitch, jog out by the lake for a while, stop and practice a bit of dueling then jog back. We do it almost every morning except when it is raining."

"Hmm, dueling practice as well." Her eyes landed on her friend Hannah speculatively.

"Oh no, Susan Bones, you are not dragging me into this. I need my beauty sleep."

Harper thought about praising the benefits of regular exercise, but it looked like Susan was already half-way hooked. So she kept her mouth shut and waited.

"I'll think about it," Susan decided. "What time would I have to meet at the Quidditch pitch and how far are you running?"


	43. Chapter 43 - Gryffindor Tower

**A/N:** I don't know why I got stuck on my chapter, but I did. My biggest failing as an author is that I reach a point and everything I write just feels lame. I don't think this is my best chapter even though it is an important one. I'm going to try to push past this part and hopefully my writing will pick up. Anyway, for all my readers, I haven't quit yet. So I hope you enjoy this chapter even if it does feel weak to me.

* * *

**Gryffindor Tower**

For weeks she'd planned and prepared with Hermione and Myrtle. Myrtle's scouting had given her the password and the location of the diary. She had studied up on spells. She had Jade with her hidden under her robes. She had swiped some Gryffindor robes from the laundry. The hardest part, brewing the polyjuice potion, had gone off almost perfectly. It had been supposed to yield twelve potions, but had only yielded ten. One of those had been sacrificed to test the potion, for an hour she'd become Theo while Hermione kept watch for any adverse reaction. Weeks of planning and preparation and now everything was ready, except for one stubborn witch. "Hermione, you shouldn't even be here."

"I'm going with you, Harry. I have it all worked out. I have a hair from Lavender Brown and a spare robe."

"You should be in History of Magic. The timing is perfect for me. The Gryffindors are out in greenhouses with the 'Puffs while we Slytherins have an open period. No one will notice I'm gone, but you on the other hand are skipping class!" Hermione skipping class was mind boggling in itself. Harper hadn't saved this Hermione from the troll, yet she seemed even more willing to break rules than the Hermione in the book. What had she done to bring about this change in Hermione?

"I don't know why you have to do this, Harry, but I know you. This is important. Don't try to convince me not to go. It's already too late for me to back out. I skipped class. I'll tell them I wasn't feeling good and if I get a detention, I'll serve it." Her face had that stubborn look she got at times when she'd made her mind up.

Harper didn't think anything would change Hermione's mind when she had that look on her face, but she made one more try. "I'll have Myrtle with me."

Myrtle nodded. "I'll watch his back."

Hermione smiled at Myrtle. "And you can watch mine, too, but you can't cast spells. If something happens, I'll be able to act and draw attention away from Harry."

"You could get in a lot of trouble, Hermione."

Hermione unstopped her bottle and added a hair to it. "And you told me that if you don't do this people could get hurt. I'm going." She marched off into a toilet stall.

Myrtle laughed. "You're going to be in trouble in a few years, Harry Potter. Better drink your potion."

"You're right." Harper added the hair from Ron Weasley to his potion. It started hissing and foaming. A few seconds later it had turned a bright red that reminded Harper of Ron's hair. She went into stall. Carefully removed Jade from her robes and set her down. "_I'm going to drink the potion that makes me change now._"

"_Asss you sssaid, Ssspeaker._"

Harper took a deep breath and gulped the potion down. The essence of Theo had been like lemonade, sweet and tart mixed together. Ron's was thick and rich and nauseating. It was both sugary and greasy and her stomach revolted at the taste. Harper took deep breaths trying not to puke as her insides started writhing like she swallowed live snakes. A burning sensation spread rapidly from her stomach to the very end of her fingers and toes. Her body felt like it was melting like hot wax and she fell to her knees and clutched the toilet as the potion worked its magic on her. Her arms and legs extended as she gained a bit of height. Suddenly it was over.

Harper took stock of herself. Her feet felt cramped. Ron had big feet and she felt weak overall. She felt weaker, like she was sick and wondered if something was wrong. She hadn't felt that way when she'd become Theo. As she felt her muscles, she realized they were weaker and flabby. Ron didn't work out. Apparently she could feel the difference in muscle tone. Her robes almost fit, but she quickly changed to Gryffindor colors.

"_Masster?_" asked Jade.

"It's okay, Jade. I'm still me. Just a change in my body." She picked up Jade and let her slither under her robes partly wrapped around her neck. She exited the toilet and looked around to find Hermione at the mirror.

Hermione fussed with a strip of ribbon, the kind that Lavender usually wore in her hair. "Just a moment Harry. I have to get this tied right. I don't wear bows."

Harper was relieved that Hermione wasn't half feline. Apparently fate had decided not to repeat that botched transformation. She stepped up to Hermione feeling odd to be the same height even if they were in different bodies. "Here let me." She grabbed the ribbon and tied up Hermione's hair in a close approximation of how Lavender wore hers.

Hermione looked at it critically. "That's pretty good, Harry. I think I could stare at myself for a while. This is so weird, but we'd best get going."

Myrtle flew about. "Yes, yes, let's go! We have… business. I'll check out the tower and meet you at the door." With that Myrtle vanished through the ceiling.

"Myrtle is right, Hermione. We only have an hour. We need to make the most of it."

"So why are we still talking?"

As they headed toward Gryffindor Tower Harper realized that Hermione was going to find out more than she planned. "I have two objectives. We're going to capture Ron's familiar — it's not a prank. You'll find this out soon enough but Scabbers is really an animagus named Peter Pettigrew. The most important part of this mission is the rat must not escape. He usually nests in a little box beside Ron's bed whenever Ron is in classes. When I cast _Stupefy_, you cast as well. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded. "I understand. I don't understand how you know, but I trust you." The grave and determined expression she wore looked totally out of place on Lavender's face.

"I'll explain later." Maybe she could tell Hermione that she was a dream seer, like she'd told Theo, Tracey and Daphne. Although she wasn't looking forward to lying to Hermione.

"What's the other objective?"

"A book. The diary of Tom Malvolo Riddle. I can get that easy. It can't run away. The rat can."

"I've got it…" Suddenly she gasped. "Harry! Is that why you brought Jade? In case he runs?"

Harper frowned. Trust Hermione to spot that. "Yes."

"Harry, Jade is a cobra. She could follow him down a rathole, but she'd _kill_ him."

"It's a last resort and it is necessary. Some really awful things will happen if Pettigrew escapes. I want him alive. An innocent man has been imprisoned in Azkabhan for twelve years and I need Pettigrew alive to clear his name."

"But —" Hermione cut off because they were at Gryffindor tower and face to face with the fat lady.

Myrtle stepped out of a wall. "There are two upper years snogging in the common room. I doubt they'll even notice you. First year room is clear and the rat is in its nest."

"Right. Let's go." She walked up to the portrait. "Pig snout."

"Yes, dears." The smiling fat lady acknowledged the password and the door opened.

The room looked a lot nicer than the Slytherin common room. She liked the natural lighting. It just felt more open. The couple snogging in the corner didn't even look up. Harper went straight for the doorway as directed. Myrtle led the way and in just a few moments they were in one of the boys dormitories. One of the beds was draped in Chudley Cannon orange. Beside the bed was a box and in the box was a rat.

"_Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!_" Harper chain cast the spell hitting Pettigrew repeatedly with her stunner. She still couldn't knock out an opponent with a single spell. Despite all her training she just didn't have that much raw power. Her stunner only hit like a punch to the belly, enough to leave an opponent gasping and reeling. So she kept casting it and casting it. "_Stupefy! Stupefy!_"

Hermione had cast as well at first but after the second time she stopped. "Harry, enough. He's out."

Shaking Harper stopped. She closed the lid that was usually left open. Then cast two charms on the box. "Right. Pettigrew is secure now."

"What did you do to the box? I recognize the locking charm, but what was the other."

"Unbreakable charm. That way he can't transform to human." Harper was already moving to Ron's dresser. Second drawer according to Myrtle held his underwear. She opened it and found boys boxers and underneath them…"

"Yes!" Myrtle's form suddenly brightened and turned more solid, a sure sign she getting vengeful. "Take it and lets go."

"Wait," called Hermione. She pulled a potion bottle out. She went to Ron's bed and pulled back the covers.

Harper was shocked. "Hermione, what are you doing?"

"Pranking Ron Weasley."

Myrtle laughed. Harper was shocked. "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?"

"Can't you see? I'm Lavender Brown." She tossed itching powdered all over Ron's bed and covered it up before heading to his dresser. She dropped stink pellets into his clothing drawers closing them quickly before the smell could escape. "Honestly Harry, use your brain. I'm covering for us. Now they'll think it was just a prank. Stealing is serious, but if they think it is part of a prank then the teachers will be slow to get involved. Besides…" She gave a grin that looked more Myrtle than Lavender or Hermione. "… I owe Ron Weasley some payback. This is the tradition isn't it?"

"Yes, but… what happened to turn the other cheek? Don't break the rules and…" what had gotten into Hermione?

She sighed. "I know, it is kind of awful of me and I wouldn't have done it except that we need to cover up, but I can't help but feeling a bit satisfied." She pulled out a dungbomb and pulled the fuse. "Run!"

Harper had no intention of being in the room when the dungbomb went off, but she was still shocked at the changes in Hermione Granger. She might have expected this kind of behavior from Ginny Weasley, but not the rule-following Hermione. Still she hurried out and down and didn't stop hurrying until they got back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "I still can't believe you did that, Hermione."

Hermione laughed. "It was a little crazy, but it was necessary, Harry. Now it will be written off as a prank, at least until you tell Lady Bones. I still think you should tell Dumbledore."

Harper shook her head. "No, Dumbledore wouldn't listen at all when I tried to talk about Snape and Binns. I just don't trust him. He has his own agenda. I'll tell Lady Bones tomorrow."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "You know it is really hard to argue with you when I don't know all this secret stuff you're hiding. Can you tell me why we needed the diary? Or how you know all this?"

"I want to tell you, Hermione. Really I do. I've told bits and pieces to others because I've had to, like I told you about Pettigrew, but some of it needs to stay secret — until you prefect your occulumency."

"I understand." Hermione's face twisted. "Um, I think it is wearing off. I'd best… Um, excuse me." Hermione dashed into one of the stalls.

Myrtle drifted close as soon as Hermione disappeared. "When do we destroy it? You promised I could do it."

"Shh, Myrtle. As soon as Hermione leaves." Which didn't take long. The polyjuice wore off and Harper soon found herself back to being Harry Potter again. Hermione left and then she was alone in the girl's loo with Myrtle.

Myrtle's form grew brighter. "She's gone! Let's do it. You promised I could do it!"

Harper nodded. "I did. We'll do it in the Chamber of Secrets. That's where the basilisk fang is that we need." She walked over to the sink with the snake on the tap and hissed at it. "_Open._"

A quick slide down the dark pipe and she was back in the little anteroom. The tunnel had collapsed on the basilisk, but its front half still extended from the rubble. The corpse looked remarkable unspoiled for a several weeks old corpse. The fangs were visible and looked dangerous. She was regretting offering to let Myrtle do this, but she'd promised. "Be careful. Make sure the poison just hits the book. Even a single drop on my skin could be lethal. Let me get my dragon scale goves on first."

Myrtle faded a bit. "Harry, thank you. I should tell you something. This diary was made with my death. I'm sure of that. I know it like I know my own name. When I destroy it, there is a good chance that I'll move on."

Harper frowned. She liked Myrtle, but moving on for a ghost wasn't dying. It was leaving limbo for a better place. She should be happy for Myrtle. "I'll miss you, if that happens. You've been a true friend to me and I still trust you most of all."

"You're a good person, Harry Potter, and I think the only friend I've ever known. If I move on, promise me that you'll finish him."

"I will, Myrtle." She briefly considered confessing to being Harper Potts, but didn't want to spoil this moment. "I'm ready, Myrtle. I invite you into my body."

Harper saw Myrtle dive into her body before she felt a pressure and was suddenly shoved back in her own body. It felt rather like being in the rear seat of a car. Suddenly she was the passenger in her body and was along for the ride. She could have tried to fight it and force Myrtle out, but she just relaxed and let it happen.

Myrtle laughed. "Payback time." Harper watched as Myrtle removed the diary and then a calligraphy pen. She opened the book and wrote into it. "Hi Tommy Boy, do you remember me? Myrtle Klugg? Did you kill me because I was a muggle? Or was it because I was the only student in the school with better grades than you? Any last words before I kill you?"

From the backseat of her mind Harper watched the words swirl and rearrange. "Ron fight her. She's a ghost, a spirit. Fight her off. You're a great wizard from a pureblood family. You have the willpower to fight off a ghost."

Myrtle laughed, an oddly feminine laugh coming out of Harper's mouth. "Poor Tom. Time to die." She went over to the snake, took the diary and slammed it down on one of the outstretched fangs. The fang went all the way through the diary made a screaming sound and ink spewed out of the diary in torrents. "You're dead now Tommy! Dead! Dead! Dead! And I'll see you die the final death Tom. This I swear upon my grave!"


	44. Chapter 44 - Lady Bones

Lady Bones

Harper waited outside the Governor's boardroom for Lady Bones to show. Her mind was filled with doubts and questions. In many ways this meeting was worse than the mission into Gryffindor tower. She thought back on her background research. Lady Bones was a risk, but a calculated one.

Harper had read up on the Bones family and it wasn't hard to find out about them. One of the early turning points in the first war against Voldemort was the Fall of the House of Bones. It was a famous event. Voldemort wasn't the first dark wizard since the fall of Grindelwald died. There had been many all over the world and at first Voldemort was seen as just another criminal. That was before the Fall of the House of Bones. The Bones family were an Ancient and Noble House with a talent for necromancy. Their manor was widely agreed to be as strong as any. There were rumors they even had inferni guards, but Voldemort killed them all. No alarms went out. It wasn't until the next day that it was discovered the wards were down, the manor burnt to ground and every member of the family had been put to death. The lucky ones had just died. Some of them had been tortured for hours. A few family members survived. They had been elsewhere at the time. Amelia Bones had been a senior auror at the time and on duty. Susan's parents survived because they'd been travelling. Their death was a footnote, killed by Voldemort a few years later, shortly before the war ended. Before the war the Bones family was one of the most prominent in England. They numbered in the dozens. Afterwards they could be counted on one hand and only one child remained to carry on the line — Susan. If anyone had reason to hate Voldemort, Lady Amelia Bones did.

Susan Bones approached with a stern elderly witch by her side. The woman had a family resemblance to Susan and had to be Lady Bones. She wasn't wearing the severe black wizengamot outfit from the movie. Instead she had on light blue robes that matched her eyes. She wore a monocle in her left eye, something else that wasn't in the movie.

Harper smiled at Susan and bowed deeper than he would usually. This was a formal introduction after all. "Hello, Susan. Good to see you." She kept it short and waited for the introduction.

"Hello, Harry." Susan curtsied in return. "Aunt Amelia, allow me to introduce my friend, Harry, heir to the House of Potter. Harry, my aunt, Lady Amelia, head of the Ancient and Noble House of Bones."

Lady Bones curtsied slightly and didn't offer her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter. My niece speaks well of you."

"The honor is mine, Lady Bones." That took care of the formalities, but she waited for Lady Bones to make the next move.

"I understand that you wished to speak with me privately as one of the governors. While I do have that honor, I usually send a proxy to the meetings. Still I am curious as to what you have to say, Mr. Potter. I trust you have no objection to my niece joining us."

Harper looked over to Susan who smiled politely. "I like your niece and I'm proud to call her a friend. I'd welcome her to participate in our discussion about Hogwarts, but something else has come up. I would like to first have a private discussion with you as Head of Magical Law Enforcement."

Lady Bones studied him for a bit and then nodded. "Very well, Mr. Potter, we will do it as you say. I would still like to have Susan with me for the Hogwarts business. Susan will you wait outside?"

Susan nodded. "Of course, have a good chat."

Lady Bones removed her wand and tapped the door with it. "Lady Bones, Governor." The door swung open and she went to the seat marked 'Bones' and sat down.

Harper picked up the box with Pettigrew and followed. The outer door swung shut behind her. "Is this room secure, Lady Bones?" Surely it had to be. Lucius Malfoy wouldn't have discussed things if Dumbledore could listen in.

"This room is as secure as any room can be. Why all the secrecy, Mr. Potter? And what pray tell is in that box?" She sounded polite and perhaps even friendly.

"Lady Bones…" Harper felt shakey. This was it. She was about to let the cat out of the bag and there would be no way to put it back in. She had no real proof that Lady Bones was trustworthy. She just knew that Dumbledore didn't listen. This was a gamble, but it was a deliberate one. Taking no action was just as risky. "… I am going to make several improbable claims today. For some of them I have no proof whatsoever. For some of them I have pensieve memories to offer. However, I know how wild my claims will sound, so I waited until I could produce one piece of hard evidence. That is what I have in the box. Inside this box is an unregistered animagus, a Death Eater, a man who is believed to be dead, a man who is guilty of at least twelve acts of murder, accomplice to two more acts of murder, and accomplice to one act of attempted murder. An innocent man rots in Azkaban. In this box is my parent's true secret keeper and betrayer."

Lady Bones no longer looked polite or friendly. As Harper had hinted at what was in the box she'd grown still and hard. She gave off a palpable feeling of magic. Her eye tightened around her monocle and she studied Harper intensely through it. "You believe you have Peter Pettigrew in that box and that Sirius Black was framed."

Harper nodded. Lady Bones was quick on the uptake. That was good. "I do have Peter Pettigrew in this box. Would you like to meet him?"

"I would indeed, Mr. Potter. What kind of animal is he?"

Harper smiled. Lady Bones seemed to accept this without proof. "He is a rat animagus. I can open the box for you, but he's fast. I stunned him, but he is awake now. Can I get you to do something to contain him so he doesn't escape?"

Lady Bones nodded. "I think a simple immobilizing ward will do the trick. Give me a few moments, Mr. Potter." She drew a pentagram on the floor, inscribed some runes and charged it. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Place the box in the center, open it, then get back."

Harper watched with interest. She was so taking Ancient Runes in third year. She carefully placed the box in the center of the pentagram, opened it and jumped back. She felt nothing blocking her in place, but as soon as the lid was off, Pettigrew was out. Rather than trying to flee the rat jumped at her, but when he crossed the line of the pentagram he was suddenly froze stiff.

"Awfully brave for a rat. They would usually flee. _Homorphus!_"

A bright blue light from her wand enveloped Pettigrew. The rat glowed and then got larger like a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head shot upwards from the ground; limbs were sprouting; next moment, an ugly, overweight man stood lay the rat had been.

"I've seen photos. He's aged and looks more like a rat than before. Years of being in his rat form would do that, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is indeed Peter Pettigrew. I have to say, Mr. Potter, when you provide proof you don't mess around. This is going to kick up a hornet's nest, but I always wanted an excuse to reopen some of the closed cases my predecessors left me."

Harper smiled with relief. She'd made the right choice in coming to Lady Bones. "That includes Sirius Black, I trust."

She nodded forcefully. "That most certainly includes Sirius Black. You have more to discuss than this?"

Harper laughed. "Oh this is just the tip of the iceberg, but do you want Pettigrew listening in on it?"

"Quite true, Mr. Potter." She aimed her wand at Pettigrew. "_Stupefy!_" She smiled. "Give me a moment to add a silencing charm to the wards around him as well, just in case he wakes up."

Harper nodded. "Certainly."

Lady Bones added more runes to the wards and then powered them up. "He should be secure for hours now. So what is the rest of the iceberg?"

Harper took a deep breath. "Lord Voldemort is not fully dead. His spirit survives and is trying to return to find a new body."

A slight contraction of her eye around her monocle was all the reaction that Lady Bones gave. She might as well have been carved of stone. "How do you know this?" Her voice was cold and emotionless.

"I fought him. He possessed Professor Quirrell. He tried to kill me, unsuccessfully. When Quirrell died, he tried to possess me as well without success. I have also destroyed two of his soul anchors." She wanted to avoid the word horcrux. As she hadn't run across that word in her studies. There had been hints about them in the _Book of the Dead_, but that book didn't have details.

"What do you know of 'soul anchors'?" Her gaze locked onto Harper's.

Harper could feel the pressure against her mind and did her occulumency as best she could. "They are pieces of Voldemort's soul tied to objects. If you would kindly get out of my mind, I'll show you the remains of the two I destroyed." The pressure on her mind suddenly fled

"My apologies, Mr. Potter." She didn't look apologetic. She had a cold and hard pokerface betraying nothing. "You have impressive skills for a child of your years. Please, show me these remains."

Harper took out a box from her expandable bag. She set it on the table, opened the lid and slid it over. "Look but don't touch. They were destroyed with basilisk venom. There might be lingering traces of poison still on them. I've been unable to find a test to tell if they are clean."

"Basilisk venom? Where did you obtain basilisk venom?" Her eyes flickered from Harper to the box.

"From a basilisk, where else?" While her answer sounded flippant, she tried to deliver it in a serious tone.

Lady Bones nodded and looked in the box. She removed her monocle, turned it, and replaced it. "There is still a dark residue to these items. What were they before you destroyed them?"

"The tiara was the Diadem of Ravenclaw. The book was the diary of Tom Malvolo Riddle from when he was a student at Hogwarts before he became Lord Vodemort."

"Mr. Potter, how do you know these things?"

"Lady Bones, that is the part that I cannot prove. It is improbable and I doubt you'll believe me. Is it enough to say that I want to destroy the man who killed my parents? As further proof, I can tell you where to locate three more soul anchors."

"Mr. Potter, you have already confessed to being involved in the death of Quirinus Quirrell. That is enough right there for me to have you arrested and questioned. I'm quite impressed by your apprehension of Peter Pettigrew and I have little doubt the two artifacts you showed me were dark, but I cannot act merely upon your word. I am entrusted with carrying out the law. I need evidence. I need proof."

"What if I don't have proof?" She heard the sound of handcuffs and a prison cell in her future.

"I have access to veritaserum and a pensieve." Lady Bones hadn't made a move, but she looked dangerous.

"Neither of those can prove what I know." Virtaserum was dangerous. The simple question, 'What is your name?' would undo her. She could show a pensieve memory of the fight with Quirrell, but she'd attacked first and most of the conversation had been in parseltongue. Should she lie and try the Dream Seer excuse?

"What are you scared of, Harry? If Quirrell was possessed by… Voldemort, then you have no reason to fear. However, I smell guilt on you. What is it that you're hiding?"

A quote from an old movie played in her memories: You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! There was no way back now. She'd told too much. Either she told the Dream Seer lie or she leveled completely. "Lady Bones, would you do everything in your power to destroy Lord Voldemort?"

She snorted. "Silly boy, of course I would."

"Right then." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Once upon a time in a world not so very far from this one, there was a young muggle girl named Harper Potts…"


	45. Chapter 45 - Under Arrest

**Under Arrest**

Harper eyed Lady Bones nervously. She hadn't told her everything. She'd only told her the most secret part — that she had been born a muggle girl, had died of cancer, and most importantly from her perspective Harry Potter was a fictional character in stories and film.

"I don't know what to say. I believe you are in earnest and Pettigrew is pretty substantial proof that you know hidden secrets…" Lady Bones had listened politely and asked questions. She was showing some emotion now, more confusion than anger or disbelief. "… It is just so hard to believe. There are other worlds beyond this one. Our souls move on and there are demons. I can't say that I have ever heard a story like this one."

"Perhaps you have. One other person knows of Harper Potts. She believes I am a doppelgänger."

Lady Bones seemed to weigh that idea for a while. "Perhaps you are. I never believed greatly in doppelgängers being a separate race of dark creatures, but it gives a name to what has happened. Let's say I believe you. There are still things I must know. The first being, why me? Did the stories and movies lead you to me?"

"Indirectly. You were but a minor character in the story of Harry Potter. You appeared twice. Voldemort manages to restore his body at the end of Harry Potter's fifth year. Cornelius Fudge covered it up. He spent a year denying that Voldemort was back. That cost untold lives. Dolores Umbridge acting on her own initiative sent dementors to the home of Harry Potter. When he successfully defended himself with the Patronus Charm, Fudge had him put on trial for underage magic. That was your major appearance in the story. Fudge tried to railroad Harry Potter into Azkaban. You were in charge of the trial and you saw to it that it was fair. There weren't many other fair people in the stories. Especially not many in power."

"I see. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. You said that I appeared twice. What was the second occasion?"

"At the end of Harry Potter's sixth year Voldemort invaded the Ministry of Magic. He was driven off by Dumbledore, but publicly revealed to be alive. Shortly after Cornelius Fudge was voted out as Minister of Magic and you were most likely to be the next Minister of Magic."

"What?" Lady Bones had remained stalid throughout everything else, but this shocked her. "Me, as Minister of Magic. Absurd. They'd never let a witch in the position and I'm not political enough."

"You were the right person for the job. That's why Voldemort killed you. Apparently he respected you enough to do it himself and you put up a good fight, but that's the other part of my reason. If Voldemort didn't want you as Minsister of Magic, that is a ringing endorsement in your character as far as I'm concerned."

Lady Bones was no longer a perfect statue. It was obvious a great internal struggle was going on inside her. Her hands gripped the table tightly and the tension, but she held up stoically. "It is hard to sit here and calmly discuss my possible death in five years."

"Only if things stay on their original path. I've already changed a lot. I plan on changing more. Just giving you this warning should alter your personal destiny."

"What of Susan?" Lady Bones asked sharply. "What did the stories say of her? Does she live?"

"Susan Bones wasn't a close friend of Harry Potter. I'm closer to her already in a few weeks than he ever was. The stories portrayed her as a nice person and she survived your death. She fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters here at the Battle of Hogwarts at the end of Harry Potter's seventh year."

"What?! She would be only seventeen, barely an adult and not a trained auror. She would have no business in taking part of any battles. Hogwarts is a place for learning. A place children should be safe… Does Susan live?"

"I believe she does. Her death wasn't mentioned by name, but many students died in the final conflict." Harper wondered if she should be saying all this, but it was too late now. "This is a future I want to change. In the stories too many children died along the way."

"I agree." The she shook her head strongly. "That's not strong enough. One child's death is too much. Second question. Why not Dumbledore?"

Harper took a breath to reorder her thoughts at the sudden change in direction. "He is a great wizard and on the side of light. However, he holds secrets close. He believes he is the only one who sees what must be done. He steers others, particularly Harry Potter, like pawns on a chessboard. I've seen for myself that the Dumbledore at this school is very much like the ones in the book. He ignores bad teachers, because they have a role to play in his war with Voldemort. I fear that if I told him that he would use legilimency against me. I also wouldn't put it past him to obliviate me, 'for the greater good'."

"The greater good? That was Grindelwald's saying, not Dumbledore's."

"Dumbledore uses that phrase as well. He only obeys the laws when the suit him. More importantly… It was Dumbledore who placed Harry Potter with the Dursleys. I only got a small taste of the hell his life must have been. All I had to suffer was a boot to the face, a concussion and broken ribs. I think they tortured the original Harry Potter to death. That's why I'm here… so forgive me if I don't trust him."

Lady Bones gasped. "I… I can see why you have trouble trusting him." She looked down. "What of yourself… Miss Potts? You've brought me Pettigrew, but you were involved in the death of Quirinus Quirrell. You avoided discussing the details. I can tell you were hiding something. Tell me truly, did you murder him?"

"He was possessed by Lord Voldemort. It wasn't murder. It was a battle. We were both trying to kill each other." Although she had struck first. She couldn't clear herself with pensieve memories. Most of the discussion had been in parseltongue and the fight was in the poorly lit anteroom to the Chamber of Secrets.

"I see." She removed her monocle, cleaned it, and replaced it. "I believe you, Miss Potts. Now I'm going to have to ask you to believe in me. I need to get you to the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible. I don't want Dumbledore involved. The easiest way for me to have the authority to remove you from Hogwarts is to arrest you. I'd rather not charge you in the death of Quirinus Quirrell. So I propose to charge you in the kidnapping of Peter Pettigrew. That will give me the authority to take you into custody and once Pettigrew is revealed to be a murderer, the charges against you will be dropped."

Harper felt her heart race and had to use her occulumency. This wasn't at all what she'd expected. Being arrested wasn't part of her plan. "Why do you need to take me to the Ministry?"

"Because this doesn't belong to me. All of these prophecies, anything to do with time alterations on this scale belong to the Department of Mysteries. I can be involved. My clearance is that high, but they need to debrief you and take steps to contain this. You probably shouldn't have told me as much as you have. I think we're walking on the edge of unleashing a major paradox and that could undo everything you've accomplished so far."

"I don't understand. I'm in an alternate world, not the past." Hermione had said something about the dangers of time turners… but she couldn't remember the details beyond the dangers of not meeting yourself.

"Miss Potts, I don't understand the intricacies of temporal paradox, but there are a few directives that automatically invoke the Department of Mysteries. Your story includes three of them: time alteration, prophesies and cheating death."

Harper felt like things were spinning out of control. Maybe she should have gone to Dumbledore. Being taken in by the wizarding version of the CIA, or rather SIS since this was England. She might be forced to play the role of Harry Potter, but she wasn't James Bond. Plus they weren't secure. "I don't know that I trust them. There was a traitor in the Department of Mysteries in the books. Rockwood or something."

"Rookwood is in Azkaban and he was a researcher."

Harper nodded at the correction to the name, but was really thinking hard. Lady Bones could have just arrested her. Instead she was asking for trust. "I really don't like this idea. I wanted to keep this just between us. If you haul me out in manacles, it will attract more attention."

"Merlin, do you think I would haul you out in manacles? I'm trying to avoid attention and Dumbledore's involvement."

"Oh." Well that was good. "Do you have to arrest me? Can't you just bring me in as a witness or something?"

Lady Bones shook her head. "You're a minor. If I bring you in as a witness then your guardians get notified first. Poppy and Steven Pomfrey will contact Dumbledore, which you want to avoid, don't you?"

Harper nodded glumly. "Yes, I don't need him involved, but I've read too many stories about what government agencies do to people who know too much. I don't want to be oblivated or put in some cell for the rest of my life."

"I suppose I could tell you that can't happen. I won't. I think there is a risk of that, but I'll be walking in there with you and putting myself on the line as well. I think what will happen is that we will both spend a long time being interrogated under veritaserum and then the Unspeakables will do what they do best — cover it up. I understand you wanted this to be between the two of us. However, I'm not in that kind of position. I don't have covert agents. If I start sending my aurors out on your information, questions will be asked. I'm not even comfortable with not bringing this to the Minister of Magic, but you've sewn enough seeds of doubt in my mind that I'm willing to take this another way. The Unspeakables can help you and keep this secret."

"I see." She had her backup plan. Myrtle wasn't present. If anything happened to her, then Myrtle would go to Dumbledore. Turning herself over to the Department of Mysteries scared her silly, but Lady Bones _asked_. Dumbledore had never asked Harry. He had manipulated. "If I were your niece… would you tell me to go?"

Lady Bones drew in a deep breath. "If Susan were in your position, yes I would tell her to go.

Harper reluctantly nodded her agreement. "Very well, can I ask you for one thing before you arrest me?"

Lady Bones tilted her head. "You may ask."

For a moment she was taken out of her fear. That was so like something her own mother would do say. Maybe it was a parent thing. She had to pause a second to gather her thoughts. "I believe you have a young auror working for you by the name of Nymphadora Tonks. If she is not assigned elsewhere, I believe she would like to be involved in the questioning of Pettigrew."

"Actually, Miss Tonks is still in training, but…" Lady Bones smiled. "I can understand why you suggest involving her. I think it will be very education for Miss Tonks. When it comes time to bring Sirius Black back from Azkaban for questioning, it would no doubt be wise to have a family member present. I'll make it happen."

"Right, so how do ew do this? Do you arrest me now? Or do we talk more first?"

"I'll place you under arrest. Then we'll take you and Pettigrew to Ministry of Magic. As soon as we get there, I'll shuffle you to the Department of Mysteries and join you as soon as possible. I'll have to work quickly, because Dumbledore and your guardians will without a doubt show up before long."

"Will there be enough time?"

Lady Bones chuckled. "Unspeakables can make time when they need to do so."

Hmm, hadn't there been a room full of time turners in the Department of Mysteries? "Alright then, let's do this."

Lady Bones stood. "Harry, heir to the House of Potter, I arrest you for the kidnapping of Peter Pettigrew. Out of respect for your position as heir, I ask you to come quietly with me and avoid the unpleasantness of forcing me to restrain you."

Harper bowed. "I will gladly accompany you, Lady Bones."


	46. Chapter 46 - Interrogation

**A/N:** I'm having trouble keeping up daily posting. Life interrupts some times. This week it was some isues with my computer that are fixed now and too much work from the office, but here is the next installment. Hopefully I can get back to a faster posting pace.

* * *

**Interrogation**

Harper wasn't happy at the amount of attention that they drew leaving Hogwarts, but it was inevitable with Lady Bones levitating a stunned Peter Pettigrew along beside them like some kind of oversized balloon. Naturally Susan Bones was the first to notice, but she had accepted her aunt's explanation that it was a criminal matter to be discussed later. The rest of the student body wasn't so easily set aside. Heads turned as they passed. Questions were shouted. A few people even started following them. Harper did her best to ignore them as she hurried to keep up with the pace Lady Bones set. Fortunately they didn't run into any professors, only Filch and he was quickly cowed when Lady Bones commanded him to stand aside. As soon as they were past the wards, Lady Bones pulled out a portkey and took the three of them to the Ministry of Magic.

That was Harper's first time using that mode of transportation and it felt just like what had been described in the books. Some force hooked her body under her navel and drew her across space then dumped her out. Harper decided she wasn't a big fan of travel by portkey as she landed in a jail cell underneath Pettigrew's stinky arse. Aurors arrived immediately and quickly deferred to Lady Bones. Not that Harper blamed them. Lady Bones in motion was a force to be reckoned with. A gray-haired wizard named Robards was 'Deputy on Duty' and Lady Bones laid out facts quickly: Peter Pettigrew in custody, Sirus Black most likely innocent, fetch Cadet Tonks, and if there were any leaks about the identity of her VIP witness heads would roll.

Once Lady Bones kicked over the auror anthill, she pulled Harper aside and deposited her in what was obviously her office, because the plaque on the door read Madame Bones—Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Her office was very functional and small for someone with her office. A mahogany desk occupied a large portion of the space. One wall was lined with bookshelves. Another wall looked more appropriate to a kitchen having a large counter with cabinets above and below. At one end of the counter squatted an odd contraption with multiple spigots and twisty pipes. It looked like someone had married a muggle drink dispenser to a French horn. As there were several cups hanging on hooks beside it, Harper was pretty sure it was some kind of drink dispenser. The third wall was covered with wizarding photos. Most of them were unknown to Harper, but she recognized Susan Bones as well as Cornelius Fudge giving Lady Bones some kind of plaque.

As Harper sat down in a surprisingly comfortable chair she noticed something else that she'd overlooked at first. On the desk, two silver contraptions rested. One of them looked like a stylized gymnast on a spinning balance beam. The other resembled a crazy atomic model. "Lady Bones, what are those?"

"It's Madame Bones when I'm wearing my MLE hat. This one." She indicated the one with the spinning balance beam. "Is a life monitor. The other is a ward monitor, but we don't have time to chit-chat. I have to get this settled before Albus Dumbledore or your guardians show up. You're being under arrest was a thin fiction to remove you from Hogwarts legally, but it won't hold up. I need to reach out to one of my contacts in the Department of Mysteries. Please wait here quietly. The fewer people who see you the better."

"I understand. I'll wait here."

Madame Bones nodded. "Good. Help yourself to something to drink. I'll be back."

Harper nodded. "Good luck, ma'am."

Then she was left alone in the office. Without much else to do she looked over the drink dispenser thing and realized it provided tea, coffee, pumpkin juice, water and butterbeer. She still missed iced tea from a former life, but tried the tea spigot and managed to pour herself a cup of hot tea complete with cream and sugar. She spent some time studying the silver contraptions and noticed faint writing surrounding the balance beam. The beam pointed at school, but there were other labels: home, work, travelling, lost, visiting, endangered, and imprisoned. It wasn't hard to deduce that the device functioned similarly to the Weasley clock from the stories. The spinning atom thing was more mysterious. Harper turned to the bookshelves and noticed most of them were labeled "Collective Proceedings of the Wizengamot" with a time period on them. Harper pulled one out and it was boring. Apparently everything said was recorded. Having considered trying to look up the non-trial of Sirius Black, but her heart wasn't in it. She didn't trust the Department of Mysteries. Even Madame/Lady Bones said there was a chance she would be obliviated.

Fortunately Madame Bones returned after a short wait. "We're in luck. An Unspeakable I trust was on duty. Follow me. If anyone asks, I'm escorting you to the loo."

Harper followed and to her surprise Madame Bones actually led her to the loo, but continued on past then opened a door to a stairwell. She took her down three flights, then along an empty corridor before stopping at a door that look like any other door on the corridor. Lady Bones knocked three times.

The door swung open. Before them stretched a long dark corridor. The floors were black. The ceiling was black. The walls were black. Unlabeled black doors lined the corridor alternating with blue torches that provided a dim light. The corridor extended perfectly straight for an improbably long distance. The blue lights grew dimmer farther down the corridor. If there was an end to the hallway, it was shrouded in darkness.

Standing in the doorway was a nondescript wizard wearing robes and gloves the color of ashes. Harper looked to the man's face, but other than having an impression of the face being male, she just couldn't recognize any features. She couldn't say what color his eyes were, the shape of his nose, if he had teeth or not, if he was smiling. She guessed it was some kind of notice-me-not charm applied to his features. She tried to stare though the charm, but she just couldn't focus on the man.

"Welcome to the Department of Mysteries. You will refer to me as Mr. Grey." The man's voice was an insect like buzz without any human overtones. "Amelia, thank you for your assistance. Mr. Potter, follow me."

Madame Bones laid a hand on Harper's shoulder and held her in place. "I want to be there for Mr. Potter's interrogation."

Mr. Grey didn't budge. "Your assistance in bringing Mr. Potter here is appreciated Amelia, but you're out of your jurisdiction. This is our turf. Our rules. You know that."

"I do, but I need to be briefed anyway. I will need to act on Mr. Potter's information. Also he justly concerned about his personal safety. He came to me. Let me be his handler."

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Amelia?"

"Don't give me that dragon dung. We both know you'll be folding time on this case. He's already told me too much. You're not going to obliviate me, because you need my department's assistance, and I'm resistant to it." She was in full Madame Bones kickass mode, but paused and then continued more softly. "I told him, that he would be safe."

Harper smiled at that. Actually Lady Bones hadn't promised she would be safe, but she felt pretty good that Lady Bones wasn't dropping her off and running.

"You shouldn't have lied to him, but you could be of use. Very well, both of you follow me."

He led them to the first door and opened it. The room was the complete opposite of the corridor. Instead of darkness it was done in harsh white: floor, ceiling and walls. The walls and floor were padded. The entire ceiling glowed with a bright artificial light. Two white chairs sat facing each. Mr. Grey conjured another one.

Harper sat down feeling uncomfortable. "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness."

Lady Bones sat down and looked puzzled. Mr. Grey took his seat and nodded. "_1984_, George Orwell. You're not in that much trouble, Mr. Potter, and we don't have anything as barbaric as room 101, but there are some similarities." The annoying buzz in his voice disguised all emotional overtones. That statement might have been approval, interest, casual conversation or a threat. "However, let's not waste time. Tell me everything. Start at the beginning."

Harper looked over to Lady Bones who nodded. "It starts with a girl named Harper Potts."

She proceeded to explain. She started with how she had been a muggle girl dying of cancer, how the adventures of Harry Potter were _fiction_ to her: novels and movies. She talked about her disbelief and eventual acceptance of the reality. It occurred to her as she discussed this that she was now in a room that looked an awful lot like a cell in mental hospital. Maybe she was really was nuts. However, she set that aside and continued. Telling the story was cathartic, like she was getting a poison out of her system. She talked about Voldemort's horcruxes: the ones destroyed and the ones still out there. She spoke of how Voldemort had returned and of Harry's adventures in the seven books. She told of her distrust of Dumbledore and Snape and her belief that the Dursleys had killed the original Harry Potter. She held back some things. She kept Myrtle's name out of the story. She didn't mention her intent to master transmutation so she could be female again. She also didn't mention that killing Voldemort was not the end of her master plan, that she wanted to gain political power in the wizarding world and use it to cure cancer for the muggle world.

Lady Bones took notes and quizzed Harper for more details about the horcruxes: where they were, how to destroy them. Mr. Grey used a dicta-quill and spent his time listening. Occasionally he'd ask clarifying questions or probe for details. After what seemed like hours he called a halt to it. "That's a good start, Miss Potts. Before we go further, I think we need to confirm things. Stick out your tongue." He produced a small vial with a clear fluid inside.

Harper was pretty sure she knew what happened now. "Veritaserum?"

Mr. Grey nodded. "Yes. I'm good at reading people and you sound sincere, but I never take anything at face value."

Harper sighed, but realized she had no real choice. Madame Bones had been honest with her and it felt like she was genuinely concerned, but Harper was the one stuck with no choices. "Right, hit me with it."

She felt the drops hit her tongue, but tasted nothing. However, just a little later she felt wonderfully floaty, like she was on a painkiller high. "Wow, thish is good stuff."

"What is your name?" demanded Mr. Grey.

"Harper Potts!" She smiled and felt happy. That one had been easy.

"Was that story you just gave me truth or dragon dung?"

"All true. The truth and nothing but the truth." But not the whole truth. Shhh, he didn't ask that.

"Did you kill Harry Potter?"

"Don't think so. I died and woke up in his body. Think the Dursleys killed him. I had puke, shit and piss all over me. Didja know that the bowels let go when you die?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that fact. Have you felt the presence of Harry Potter?"

"Nope, don't even have his memories. I did feel Vernon Dursley's boot. Maybe I shouldn't have dialed 999, but I don't regret it." She smiled. At least the Dursleys got what they deserved.

"What did you leave out of your story?"

"The horcrux in my head. Fuck. I shouldn't have told you that. Hey, I pulled a Hagrid."

"What about the horcrux in your head?"

"Might not be true horcrux. Voldemort tried to kill Harry Potter. Killing curse bounced back. Voldemort died and piece of his soul stuck in Harry Potter. Really, really hoping I don't have to die to stop him. I'd like to live. Yeah, not dying would be good. I'm the girl who dies. I had a death curse from cancer. Now it's Voldemort. Sucks to be me."

"Did Harry Potter survive?" asked Lady Bones. Unlike Mr. Grey she looked and sounded like he cared.

"Yes and no. Harry Potter did the hero walk. Let Voldemort take him down. Aveda Kedavra to the head. No more Harry, but… horcrux thing went both ways. Harry came back, clean and pure. Then he killed snakeface." Or maybe it wasn't the horcrux. Maybe it was the deathly hallows. That point hadn't been clear in the books. Shh, hadn't been asked about them. "I'd really rather not die. Not sure I'm pure as Harry. I'm twisty. Slytherin, not brave like him."

"Hush, child," said Lady Bones. "You're brave enough."

"That's what Stupid Hat said. 'Cept the thing sorted me in Slytherin."

"Tell me everything you've changed from the books," demanded Mr. Grey.

"Everythin? That's a big order. Got the Dursleys busted to start with. Karma's a wicked bitch and I'm her repogirl. After that everythin's gone sideways. I live at Hogwarts not #5 Privett Drive. Sorted into differen' house. Slytherperson, not Gryffindork. Saved Daphne Greengrass not Hermione. I can't tell up from down half the time. Some stuff repeats. Other changes. Crazy."

"Who all have you told about this?"

"Lady Bones. Good lady. Good cop. I like cops. Cops don't bullshit. Daphne Greengrass. Didn't tell her. Tried to practice occulumenta, occlusment, occulumency. She saw too much. Saw Harper Potts. She's pissed off. I think she's mostly pissed I'm a girl." Myrtle. Myrtle knew a lot. Shh, keep Myrtle out. Dead girls don't count. "Theo and Tracey Davis think I'm a dream seer. Oneri… some big word."

"Oneiromancer?"

"That's the one. Hey, this stuff is better than pot or morphine. I can't feel my toes."

Lady Bones frowned. "Grey, that's enough. You know she's telling the truth. Give her the antidote."

Mr. Grey nodded. "Fine, then we'll take a break and eat, but we're far from done."

Harper smiled. She'd learned something. She'd held stuff back. Veritaserum wasn't perfect. That was good to know.


	47. Chapter 47 - Unspeakable

**Unspeakable**

Unfortunately for Harper her interrogation was far from over. Mr. Grey went back and dug for details. He had her list out all the horcruxes again and then he had her go through Harry's adventures year by year. After that he had Harper go over everything she'd done and especially who all knew what about her.

Lady Bones was with her for every interrogation. Sometimes she asked questions, digging for details about the Ministry, Voldemort and Death Eaters. With Fudge and Madame Hopkirk she was more digging for details, but she was furious at the description of Dolores Umbridge's actions. Her anger faded to cold stillness when Harper got to the fall of the Ministry and how that under Voldemort's control they had turned on the muggle-borns, arrested them and presumably exterminated them.

For the retelling of the first few books Mr. Grey was more interested in the role of Albus Dumbledore — what he knew and when he knew it. He also dug for details on time turners, the horcruxes, and the prophesy. When she got to Voldemort's resurrection scene in _Goblet of Fire_, he had her go through it in as fine a detail as she could remember. He was also quite interested in Mad-Eye Moody.

The interrogations didn't go on without stopping. They had breaks for food and to visit the loo. Eventually she was shown to another cell with a bed and allowed to sleep. The next 'day' the interrogation resumed but was winding down. Mr. Grey took her on a short side trip to the Hall of Prophesy and brought back Sybill Trelawney's prophesy about Harry Potter. It was the same as in the books.

"That's really not very helpful," scoffed Lady Bones. "It says you have the power, but it doesn't say you will be the one to destroy him. Plus the line about either must die at the hand of the other. The Dursleys killed the original Harry Potter, didn't they?"

Mr. Grey shrugged, one of the few expressions that could be read through the notice-me-not charm on his face. "Yes, but Miss Potts is here in his place. I don't trust prophesies, but I think we need to treat this one as real. This means among other things we need to get Miss Potts battle ready, because the great Albus Dumbledore is doing shite to prepare him… or her."

"I prefer her." She still intended to be female in body and not just in mind someday, when she had enough transfiguration.

"Let's not argue about pronouns," said Lady Bones. "I think we've talked enough. Let's plan the future."

"Agreed," said Mr. Grey. "Harper's plan for the locket is solid. Can you bring off your part?"

"It should be easy enough," said Lady Bones. "Peter Pettigrew being alive is enough to throw doubt on things. If he'll do three drops, I'll clear him today and set him free. I'll do it publically before Fudge catches wind of it."

Harper blinked. "It's that easy? Dumbledore wasn't ever able to free Sirius Black even after having seen Pettigrew alive."

"Sirius Black was never convicted. That makes a huge difference. I have the authority to release him."

Mr. Grey nodded. "Miss Potts, I don't think Dumbledore wanted him cleared. This makes me wonder as to his motives. I also find it interesting how he was sentenced without trial in the first place. I think backroom deals were cut."

Lady Bones frowned. "With who?"

"The Malfoys for one. Since Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange are in Azkaban, Narcissa Malfoy is the remaining heir. That is too big a coincidence for me."

"I'll look into it, but I doubt I can prove anything."

"This is all interesting, but can we get back to the horcruxes? I'd like to be there when you go to retrieve the locket. I can handle Kreacher."

Mr. Grey shook his head. "No, let Amelia handle it. There is no need for Sirius Black to suspect that you are anything but his godson."

Harper considered arguing, but this wasn't the place to do it. Here she was a prisoner. They treated her nice, but she was still a prisoner. "Alright, if you think that is best." She could always change her mind later.

""I'll handle retrieving the cup from Bellatrix's vault. I have some ideas on how to handle it. Gaunt's ring, we'll do together over the summer. I think we'll need Miss Potts along as a parsel tongue and probably a team of cursebreakers. I'm also going to make sure that the bones of Tom Riddle Senior are removed, destroyed, and replaced with a decoy."

Harper felt like smacking her head. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"That leaves the snake and the horcrux inside Miss Potts." Lady Bones offered Harper a look of sympathy. "Can we fix the one she Miss Potts has inside her?"

"I don't know. I think we should ask the goblins. I don't trust any of the Unspeakables that specialize in death research. I suspect they are all either Death Eaters or sympathizers. It will cost a crapload of galleons, but goblins keep their clients strictly confidential. I'm pretty sure their cursebreakers have to know about horcruxes. I don't know if they can remove the horcrux from Miss Potts without killing her, but they're our best bet."

Once again Harper felt like smacking her head at the obvious stuff she'd missed. _The Book of the Dead_ was Egyptian in origin. It hinted at horcruxes. The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with death. Bill Weasley was a cursebreaker for Gringotts and he spent his time breaking into Egyptian tombs. So it followed that the goblins probably at least had a clue what a horcrux was. "So where do we get a… big stack of galleons?"

"From you vaults, Lord Potter," said Mr. Grey. "If it is a matter of your personal health and safety, I'm sure they can tap into your parent's estate and not just your trust vault. Amelia, you'll need to do that. Maybe in summer you can have him come visit your Susan and then take him on a trip to Gringotts."

Lady Bones nodded. "I don't like getting Susan involved, but that is doable."

"Hopefully the goblins will come through. That leaves the snake which is likely outside our jurisdiction."

Harper frowned. "How do you figure? I didn't think he turned Nagini into a horcrux until after his resurrection."

"You said that Wormtail found him in the forests of Albania, right? I don't think his soul would have wondered that far on its own. He should be drawn to his horcruxes. So that means the snake is most likely off somewhere in Albania. I could be wrong, but I think we're safest assuming that snake is alive and well hidden."

This was not plan. She wanted to destroy his horcruxes so he never got a foothold. "That means I'll have to fight him."

Mr. Grey nodded. "I think you can bank on it. I don't think the prophesy will bend that far. You'll have to fight him, so we try to stall. We need time to get you ready."

Lady Bones nodded in agreement. "I can invite Miss Potts over for part of the summer and arrange some tutoring then, but she'll need more than that."

"I have an idea about that. We could use the vanishing cabinet that Draco Malfoy used. If we got that fixed, then Miss Potts could duck out for a few hours."

"I think you two are overlooking the obvious." Harper grinned. She felt quite pleased that she'd spotted something they'd missed. "The Defense Against the Dark Arts position is cursed. Dumbledore is always looking for replacements. We also know from the books that Hogwarts is going to be a hotspot of activity. So why can't the head of Magical Law Enforcement send an auror to teach DADA. An auror on staff could be instructed to tutor me, as well as keeping a look out for all the death eater activity that went on under Dumbledore's nose."

Mr. Grey nodded. "I like it. Much better than a vanishing cabinet. Although an auror in residence could fix that as well as keeping tabs on Albus Dumbledore. Amelia, do you think Mad-Eye could be convinced to come out of retirement?"

Lady Bones smirked. "I think that could be arranged."

Harper had a bad feeling about that suggestion. "Maybe we should do someone other than Mad-Eye. I'm worried about accelerating the prophesy. It seemed like I've already done two and a half books in a year. I don't want to trigger the Tri-Wizard tournament and Voldemort's resurrection."

"I haven't heard anything about it happening from the Department of Magical Games and Sports, so I doubt it will happen next year, but you look a little pale."

"It's just that… I'm not ready. The events in the books seem to be coming faster. I'm not sure, but it just feels like a bad idea to bring Mad-Eye to Hogwarts so soon."

Mr. Grey nodded. "I'm sure someone else can be found, and Miss Potts, I wonder if you don't have a trace of seer about you after all. You do seem to have a sensitivity about you. Better to play it safe."

Harper scoffed. "I read the books. That doesn't make me a seer."

"It was still a good ploy and one you should continue. You may have to act on your knowledge. Being thought to be a dream seer is a good cover. However, we need better protections on the secret of your previous incarnation."

"Oh, do I get lessons in Occulumency?"

"We'll arrange some. I applaud your caution, but I think you overestimate the power of wandless Legilimency. It's not easy to pick up much beyond surface thoughts without an active probe. However, I had something more thorough in mind—the Fidelious Charm."

"Is that necessary?" asked Lady Bones. "The fact that the boy we know as Harry Potter is really a muggle girl named Harper Potts is shocking, but why secure that? Why not secure the prophesy? Then Voldemort won't come after Miss Potts."

"True prophesies cannot be hidden under the Fidelious Charm. It's been tried and it failed. As for the other, as far as magic is concerned, Harper Potts is Harry Potter now, but for the prophesy to be fulfilled that has to remain true." His blurred face shifted to Harper. "You must be Harry Potter now. I understand what you said was a passing fancy, but for whatever reason your dying wish was granted. Now you have to live up to it."

Harper looked down. "I'm trying. It's just difficult. For what it is worth, I agree with you about keeping it secret." Having spent two days being grilled, she didn't want to go through it again, but she also had a feeling that she'd screwed up by saying anything about her true self. This would make it right. Although what did that meant about her dream of being a girl again? Something to think about later.

"Right then, so are you going to be the secret keeper, Mr. Grey? I doubt Miss Potts trusts you enough for the spell to work and you would have to reveal yourself."

"I can't. I already hold a secret. You can only be secret keeper to one secret. Would you be the secret keeper for Miss Potts?"

Lady Bones looked over to Harper. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She wasn't sure why, but it felt right.

"Very well, how will the secret be worded?"

"How about: The boy known as Harry Potter was once a girl named Harper Potts in a previous incarnation. From that incarnation he has knowledge of a possible future obtained through the fictional adventures of Harry Potter."

Lady Bones frowned. "I've never used the Fidelious Charm, but I'm aware of it. Can't it only keep one secret? That's two secrets really: Harper's past life and the source of her foreknowledge."

"I hope it works. It is two secrets, but they're intertwined." Mr. Grey shrugged. "You know me, Amelia. I'm not one of those research types looking forward to joining the brain tank someday. I get things done. We try and if it works, good. If not, we come up with another plan."

"What if the spell backfires?"

"It's a light spell. It's based on faith and trust. At worst it will fail. It won't backfire."

Harper decided it was time to get a word in edgewise. "Hey! What bother sme is that you make it sound like I really am Harry Potter. I'm Harper Potts, remember. I answered that under veritaserum."

"Wrong. Virtaserum makes you tell the truth as you believe it to be. Harper Potts couldn't have removed that orb from the Hall of Prophesy. As far as magic is concerned, you are Harry Potter now."

"But…" She lowered her gaze. Even if she was Harry Potter in name now, she could still be Harper Potts in her heart. "Fine. And this will block legilimency?"

Mr. Grey nodded. "Even if someone used legilimency on you, they'd be unable to see your memories. It will also block veritaserum and you accidentally letting things slip. Amelia will keep your secret safe."

Harper thought it over looking for loopholes. "What will happen to Daphne Greengrass? She saw my thoughts and thinks I'm a doppelgänger."

"She'll still think you're a doppelgänger," replied Mr. Grey. "However, she won't remember why she thought that. I would imagine she would have a hard time defending her reasons if you confront her."

Harper wasn't really happy with that answer. Daphne was effectively getting obliviated. It felt wrong to take away her memories without her consent. However, hiding her life as Harper Potts felt like the right thing to do. "Very well, let's do it."

"Before we can try, there is one very important question. Do you trust Amelia?"

Harper looked over to Lady Bones. She could have walked away and left her. She asked her to come in to the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort nearly wiped out her family. "Yes, I do. I trust her."

Lady Bones reached over and squeezed Harper's hand. "Thank you. Given what you've been through, that must not come easy."

Mr. Grey nodded. "Right then. Miss Potts try to focus on that feeling of trust. Wands out everyone. Touch the tips. Miss Potts, you'll state your secret. Amelia, be receptive."

They all stood and followed directions. Harper felt a small shock of magic when her wand touched Lady Bones. Then Mr. Grey chanted several words and made a very complicated gesture. "Now, Mr. Potter."

"The boy known as Harry Potter was once a girl named Harper Potts in a previous incarnation. From that incarnation he has knowledge of a possible future obtained through the fictional adventures of Harry Potter." As Harper said the words she felt magic flow through her. It felt strangely like an occulumency exercise, like pieces of her mind were being sorted out and locked up.

Mr. Grey stepped back suddenly aiming his wand. "I remember casting the Fidelious Charm, but what has been sealed?"

"Two questions first," said Lady Bones. "First, who is the person with me?"

"Harry Potter, of course. Wait? He's not Harry Potter? Then who would he be?"

"Testing the Fidelous, Mr. Gray. Patience. Second question, how does Harry Potter have detailed knowledge of a possible future events?"

"I don't know. He claimed to be a dream seer to his friends, but that was a lie. It's an awfully strange fortelling. It's like he had an Ebenezer Scrooge event and had a glimpse of a possible future life. Or perhaps sent himself back in time. Whatever it was, probably needed to be protected."

Harper felt relieved that she remembered all this. She wasn't quite sure, but she thought the Fidelious Charm might have worked a bit differently in the books. Regardless, it seemed to really work. That would make her life a lot easier. While she was thinking it over, Lady Bones related the secret to Mr. Grey.

"Right." Even without being able to see his facial features, Mr. Grey was obviously relieved. His stance softend from combat ready and he put away his wand. "Now I understand. Good it worked then. So, let's talk lines of communication. Amelia, you asked to be the handler for Miss Potts. You're it. Miss Potts, all your communication from the Department of Mysteries will go through Amelia." He pulled out a bottle of owl treats. "These are enchanted. Feed one to an owl and he'll be able to locate me. They're only good once. Send the letter to Mr. Grey. Do not try to come into the Ministry. While only a few people in the Ministry are actual Death Eaters, too many are sympathizers including Unspeakables."

Lady Bones frowned. "You make it sound like the Death Eaters are still active."

"I believe they are. Their goals have not changed. They've just gotten more subtle about it. To be honest I think their quiet creeping takeover is a larger threat than Voldemort's direct conquest."

Lady Bones frowned. "I think you overestimate them. I won't deny that element exists, but I don't think they have that power."

"Why do you think your budget keeps getting cut, Amelia?" Mr. Grey shook his head. "You don't see it because everyone knows you put the law first and don't play political games, but it is there. Someday…"

"Someday, what?" asked Lady Bones.

"Nevermind. Let's see that Miss Potter's vision of your future never comes to pass."

"Yes, please!" Harper had to get her two knuts in because she felt rather ignored in the entire conversation.

Lady Bones smiled. "I think we have a plan."

"Not quite," said Mr. Grey. "We still have to talk about the Philosopher's Stone. I'm not sure if we should do anything. It depends on whether Dumbledore if senile or clever."

Lady Bones didn't reply. So Harper took it upon herself to ask. "What does that mean?"

"If Dumbledore is senile and left the Philosopher's Stone guarded by traps that three first years could bypass, then we should take it from him and put it someplace safe. However, if Dumbledore clever, then the whole thing isn't what it appears. Dumbledore knew that Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts and leaving his protections behind. That makes a tempting target. So what he did to protect Harry was set up a decoy, something more attractive to any Death Eater. The traps aren't designed to stop anyone, just slow them down and set off alarms. The mirror is the real trap and it is intended to give Dumbledore time to respond. If Dumbledore is clever then the stone in the mirror is just a rock. If it was me, I'd load it up with curses and a tracking charm."

Harper did her occulumency thing to keep from looking like a fish gulping air. "But, Dumbledore told Harry he saved the stone."

"Well, if it was a trap and a decoy, did Dumbledore really want to discourage Harry Potter by telling him that he risked his life and his friend's lives for no good reason?"

Lady Bones nodded. "What you say makes sense, but how do we tell? If Dumbledore is clever, then going after the stone is like walking into a spider's web. Miss one alarm spell and you're caught."

"I think the best thing is if Harper attempts it," said Mr. Grey. "I'm sure some students have gone snooping down there. If Dumbledore is clever and it is a trap, the worse that happens is Harper gets caught. She can write it off as just being curious."

"Um, no, the worse that happens is that I get killed by one of the traps. I can't play chess, can't fly like Harry Potter, and I had trouble with one Mountain Troll, let alone two."

"We'll prepare you, Miss Potts, with lessons and magical tools. Plus you can get some of your friends to help. If you're planning to fight Voldemort in a few years it will be a good test."

"Test?! I expected that from that manipulative old fart. That's why I didn't go to Dumbledore. You're just like him."

"No, Miss Potts. I'm telling you straight up that it is most likely a decoy. I'm not manipulating you into going there or ordering you to do it. I'm telling you why you're the best person to do it and letting you make your own choices."

"Fine." Damn Fate. Apparently she was going to have to go after the damn stone at the end of her first year anyway.


End file.
